Refactor Isn't Always the Right Answer

I have to be honest. I am not perfect, and I did not know everything when I started my career. As a junior engineer, I used to see legacy code and think, "We need to rewrite this!" Now I ask myself, "Is this 'bad' code actually broken... or just ugly?" My personal experience taught me that sometimes chasing perfect code is just a distraction from what really matters, the business and its customers.

Imagine a system that processes customer orders every day. The code is messy, there are no tests, the parts are tightly linked, and it runs on an old version of a framework. Many engineers, especially those who are new or have only seen modern code, immediately say that the code is terrible and must be rewritten. But here is the real truth, this code has been reliable for years, processing thousands of orders without problems. It was written during a time when the company had no choice but to make it work quickly, even if it did not meet our current expectations.

I believe that business needs are more important than using fancy techniques in code. Focusing on rewriting old code just to make it look good is a mistake. When we spend too much time trying to make code look modern, we risk delaying new features and even introducing new bugs. In my view, the decision to refactor should come from real needs. If the code works well and does not harm customers, then it is better to improve it step by step instead of doing a full rewrite.

I have seen many teams work for months rewriting a system that already worked perfectly. During that time, competitors were busy adding new features and growing their business. In my honest opinion, a stable and working system brings more value than a modern but untested codebase. The goal of any project should be to support the business, not just to satisfy our personal desire for clean code.

Let’s take a common scenario. A team decides to update their authentication system with the newest framework. After six long months, the new system is released. However, users do not notice any major improvement and new security issues appear. At the same time, important features are delayed because time was spent on rewriting. This teaches me that sometimes the old, proven system is the better choice because it is known to work and supports real business needs.

My view comes from years of learning and making mistakes early in my career. I have learned that it is not wise to focus only on modern trends or buzzwords that sound great but do not add value. Instead, we should ask ourselves some key questions before starting a full rewrite:

• Is this code actually causing problems for our users or the business?
• Will a complete rewrite bring real improvements or just satisfy our desire for modern code?
• Can we make small changes over time that do not risk the stability of the system?
• Are we spending our time on improvements that really help our customers?

Good engineering is about solving real problems. When a business faces tight deadlines and strong competition, every minute counts. Spending too much time on making the code look fancy can take away time from building new features that bring in more customers and revenue. I believe that the main focus should always be on delivering value and keeping the system stable.

Many engineers talk about technical debt and code beauty. I agree that technical debt exists and that clean code is a worthy goal. However, in the real world, even messy code can be a reliable tool that keeps the business running smoothly. As I learned from my early days as a junior engineer, sometimes the pressure to follow the latest trends can lead to decisions that hurt the long-term success of a project.

In conclusion, while I do appreciate modern practices and good design, I strongly believe that business needs should come first. A stable, working system that has served the company well should not be thrown away just because it does not match the latest buzzwords. My experience has shown me that incremental improvements are often a smarter way to handle legacy systems. It is more important to keep the business growing and the customers happy than to make the code look perfect on your screen.