As seen on Forbes.com
It is highly likely that your organization has some type of proprietary software in 2021. It is even more likely that your CTO will decide that your code must be reworked due to changing market conditions or the software lagging in performance. At this point, as the CEO, you must decide if the team should refactor or rewrite the code.
This decision can make or break the business in some cases; the wrong choice can send your team down the wrong rabbit hole and result in unhappy customers as well as an unhappy board of directors.
With their knowledge and experience, your CTO will have insight into which decision is more appropriate. Your CTO’s opinion will be based on your existing codebase as well as your team size, strength, and experience. It is important that you factor your CTO’s opinion into your choice on which route to take.
The solution of whether to refactor or rewrite code should also be made based on the elements of your business and the surrounding marketplace, regardless of your current tech stack. The decision needs to be based on the business goals, not the actual technology. Remember, technology is the conduit that supplies the business value.
Choosing to refactor or rewrite the code separates the less experienced developers from the more experienced developers. Developers with more experience are more familiar with what’s involved with a total rewrite and can put a more accurate timeline on the project. The more experienced engineers typically opt for refactoring because they know even using the scraps of a project is better than starting from scratch.
