Summary of Seven Strategies Series

I finished my “Seven Strategies” series of 72 blog posts with seven strategies for implementing each of the nine practices from my book, Beyond Legacy Code: Nine Practices to Extend the Life (and Value) of Your Software. These posts are filled with practical advice for implementing the nine core practices from Scrum, Extreme Programming, and Lean.

Here are the posts, enjoy!

Why Practice 1: Say What, Why, and for Whom Before How

Be the SME
Use Development for Discovery
Help Developers Understand Why and for Whom
Describe What You Want Not How to Get It
Answer Questions Quickly
Remove Dependencies
Support Refactoring

Why Practice 2: Build in Small Batches

Measure Time-to-Value
Measure Time Spent Coding
Measure Defect Density
Measure Time to Detect Defects
Measure Customer Value of Features
Measure Costs of Not Delivering Features
Measure Efficiency of Feedback Loops

Why Practice 3: Integrate Continuously

Use Version Control for Everything
One-Click Builds End-to-End
Integrate Continuously
Define Acceptance Criteria
Write Testable Code
Keep Test Coverage Where it is Needed
Fix Broken Builds Immediately

Why Practice 4: Collaborate

Try It, You’ll Like It
Engage Driver and Navigator
Swap Roles Frequently
Put in an Honest Day
Try All Configurations
Let Teams Decide on the Details
Track Progress

Why Practice 5: Create CLEAN Code

Get Crisp on the Definition of Quality
Share Common Quality Practices
Let Go of Perfectionism
Understand Trade-Offs
Hide How with What

Keep Code Testable

Why Practice 6: Write the Test First

Get Clear on the Benefits of What You are Building
Know Who it’s for and Why They Want it
Automate Acceptance Criteria
Specify Edge Cases
Use Examples
Split Behaviors on Acceptance Criteria
Make Each Test Unique

Why Practice 7: Specify Behaviors with Tests

Instrument Your TestsUse Helper Methods
Use Helper Methods
Show What’s Important
Test Behaviors, Not Implementations
Use Mocks to Test Workflows
Avoid Over-Specifying Tests
Use Accurate Examples

Why Practice 8: Implement the Design Last

Understand Object-Oriented Design
Understand Design Patterns
Understand Test-Driven Development
Understand Refactoring
Focus on Code Quality
Be Merciless
Practice Good Development Habits

Why Practice 9: Refactor Legacy Code

Refactor to Learn an Existing System
Refactor to Make Small Improvements
Refactor to Retrofit Tests in Legacy Code
Refactor to Clean Up as You Go
Refactor to Redesign When You Know More
Refactor to Clean Up Before Moving On
Refactor to Learn What Not to Do

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