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79

From what I've seen in the industry "Stopping Digging" is usually followed by swift termination which is followed by finding someone that is willing to use the shovel. This answer should add a disclaimer that lowly code-monkey peons shouldn't attempt this without being prepared for the consequences...
– Luke A. Leber
Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 0:59
66

@Luke if management or senior devs are so set on ploughing forwards despite the problems, and will even think about terminating anyone who tries to bring some sanity to this situation (OK, blatant insubordination aside), the company is on an irreversible death march. Leave them to it.
– Julia Hayward
Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 9:08
15

@JuliaHayward You are correct, but still, the situation Luke describes is common, especially on code that's already generating revenue. Really it's up to you whether it's worth it to keep working on it.
– Owen
Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 19:12
22

@LukeA.Leber You are correct. I've worked for these companies. What I can tell you is that death march will take years to complete, but every month will get progressively worse. The 'Code Monkeys' will be more miserable every month, but it will take years for the bad managers to realize the consequences of their actions... if ever.
– JS.
Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 21:46
10

@Matt: The assumption of the question is that someone cares enough about code quality to have a formal system of code review in place, and that the person asking the question is concerned about the impact of large changes on the quality of the code. If we posit instead that no one cares about code quality then sure, my answer about ways to ensure code quality does not apply, but that's not the question that was asked!
– Eric Lippert
Commented Jul 1, 2016 at 14:38

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