Yes, my nerdy friends. I am talking about refactoring.

Refactoring is “a disciplined way to restructure code”, undertaken in order to improve some of the non-functional attributes of the software.

The problem with refactoring is that it is a nerdy thing. No non-technical person on earth will ever ask you: please, will you improve some non-functional attributes for me? Please?

 

It just will not happen!

 

You have to cloak it somehow in an urgent issue or some hot requirement. This, your customer will understand.

 

Your customer wants a modern GUI? In fact, she asks for refactoring.

Your customer complains about slowness of the software? Suggest refactoring!

 

However, never pro-actively suggest refactoring. People could think that you entered play time.