The Fix
The system is working today. You just can't say why, and touching it scares you.
That fear is the symptom. The system has outlasted the people who originally held it in their heads, and every change is a small bet you don't fully understand. The fix isn't more. It's less.
What it feels like when it's done
The same system, without the fear
-
01
Shipping goes back to being normal
Small change, small risk. You can say what a change will touch before you make it. Your boundary of fear is clearly defined.
-
02
The core is safe to touch
The part that carries the load does one clean job. Changing it is a Tuesday, not an event.
-
03
On-call gets quieter
The failures you didn't expect stop happening. The ones that remain are the ones the design said would come.
-
04
The backlog actually moves
Features stop stalling on the infrastructure underneath. The new ideas get to ship.
How an engagement runs
Four steps, in order
-
Read the system
I work with the real system, not the description of it. I watch it run, I might poke here and there when we need to learn, and I write down what it does when nobody is looking. The hardest part is accurately defining the problem. This is where most of the surprises live.
-
Find the load
Every tangle has just a few pieces carrying the real weight, usually buried under layers added over the years. I find it, and I check whether the simple design you started with is still in there or paved over.
-
Cut back, in small steps
The load-bearing part does one clean job. The layers that don't earn their place come off, one reversible step at a time, in a way your team can follow. A fix you can't explain is a fix you'll undo.
-
Leave the map behind
You get a written account of what the system does, why it holds, and what to watch. It's written for the person on call, because that's the person who needs it.
Every system problem is a process problem until proven otherwise.
What I won't take on
If the real problem is a business decision that hasn't been made, I'll say so, and I'll point you somewhere better. Same for the system that's fine and just needs a new coat of paint, and the one where you want it simple but nobody will agree to delete anything. Those are different jobs than the one I excel at.
If your problem is one of those, you'll hear it right away. That's usually worth the call.
Bring me the system you can't explain anymore.
Send what it's supposed to do, what it actually does, and where it hurts. I'll tell you if it's a fit.
Contact