Code Red: The Business Impact of Code Quality by Adam Tornhill

Date: June 16, 2022
Time: 5.00pm - 7.00pm
Location: Vestergade 8-16, Silkeborg

Agenda

5:00pm - Doors open
5:15pm - Welcome by Jyske Bank and GOTO
5:20pm - Code Red: The Business Impact of Code Quality by Adam Tornhill
6:00pm - Q&A
6:15pm - F&B and network
7:00pm - Thank you for today!

Abstract

Code quality is an abstract concept that fails to get traction at the business level. Consequently, software companies keep trading code quality for new features. The resulting technical debt is estimated to waste up to 42% of developers' time, causing stress and uncertainty, as well as making our job less enjoyable than it should be. Without clear and quantifiable benefits, it's hard to build a business case for code quality.

In this talk, Adam takes on the challenge by tuning the code analysis microscope towards a business outcome. We do that by combining novel code quality metrics with analyses of how the engineering organization works with the code. We then take those metrics a step further by connecting them to values like time-to-market, customer satisfaction, and road-map risks. This makes it possible to a) prioritize the parts of your system that benefit the most from improvements, b) communicate quality trade-offs in terms of actual costs, and c) identify high-risk parts of the application so that we can focus our efforts on the areas that need them the most. All recommendations are supported by data and brand new real-world research. This is a perspective on software development that will change how you view code. Promise.

About the speaker

Adam Tornhill is a programmer who combines degrees in engineering and psychology. He's the founder of Empear where he designs tools for software analysis. He's also the author of Software Design X-Rays, the best-selling Your Code as a Crime Scene, Lisp for the Web and Patterns in C. Adam's other interests include modern history, music and martial arts.