Questioning “If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It” in Software Development
The behaviour is somewhat encouraged in Agile, with a safe net of Automation E2E via UI regression testing.
This article is one of the “Laws in Software Development” series.
“If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It” is a well-known idiom in the software industry, and many software professionals have heard it many times.
Table of Contents:
· This Idiom’s Meaning for Software Engineers
· Kaizen: “Change Good”
· Code Refactoring is an example of Kaizen
· The Missing Link: Automated E2E (via UI) Testing
· Two Stories About Changes
∘ 1. A support programmer’s suggestions for improvements
∘ 2. Optimizing database reset from ~2 seconds to 0.5 seconds
· Summary
This Idiom’s Meaning for Software Engineers
The literal interpretation of this expression is readily comprehensible. However, allow me to elucidate its implied connotations in software (as code is inter-connected).
The software feature is presently operational without any functional issues
Neither customers nor testers have reported defects for it.Changing the code (behind this feature) for enhancement might cause problems.
i.e., Setting aside whether the new enhancement functions properly, but it may break this or introduce unforeseen issues.The effort, generally speaking, is not worth it.
better to spend time and effort on others.
However, is this truly a universal rule, or even correct? It is valid for many teams, but not for real Agile ones. I no longer agreed with this rule in 2007, when I mastered E2E (UI) Test automation. In fact, I found significant benefits in frequently improving code that wasn’t broken. Why? Because I had the safety net of continuous testing, executing automated E2E tests daily as regression testing.
Reflections of Software I Created over the Last 14 Years in My Spare Time
Check out Kent Beck’s (Father of Agile) “test && commit || revert”.
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