id: 1131,3A
title: Written code is a liability.
date: 2021-10-26

Written code is a liability.

Code tends to decay which increases liability to the business over time with risk and obligation to further engineering investment. Similarly, nearly all code contains defects which furthers the same liabilities. As such, the only good code is the code not written (or deleted). Important to keep work-in-progress code to a minimum so it’s at least also delivering value. Features should be sunset when their costs outweigh their value. The added strain to the organization suggests that the best work should be identified, the strain is in service to optimal value.