Ask HN: Inherited the worst code and tech team I have ever seen. How to fix it?

Re:Ask HN: Inherited the worst code and tech team I have eve... by yjftsjthsd-h on Sunday September 18, 2022 @09:45AM (#32887513)

Nice and beautiful systems aren't the job, but a system that will continue working in the future while still allowing people to keep adding features and that won't suffer massive security breaches really is. It sounds like the current system is one bad feature implementation away from hosing the database, one hardware fault away from no longer existing, and one interested hacker away from a complete compromise.

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Re:Ask HN: Inherited the worst code and tech team I have eve... by hcks on Monday September 19, 2022 @08:41AM (#32897552)

You are right and obviously good engineering practices are not incompatible with the company’s interests.

I was more reacting to OPs attitude, where he asks how to fix everything without even being clear if he is managing the team or officially in charge of the product.

I may be mistaken but the impression I have is that the management is perfectly happy with a bad system and expects the engineers to simply go along. This is then a management decision. It may blow up later and sink the business (or not, it can just hold for the lifetime of the product).

As far as OP is concerned, this situation would mean that he should probably leave the ship now. (As staying would probably result in 1. No marketable skill development (being stuck with a garbage codebase) 2. Burn-out has he takes on the Herculean task of cleaning it up. 3. Be blamed if something bad happens.

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