If you read my previous post about the dreaded technical debt, by now you know how serious it can be. But what wasn’t discussed is how to have the proper things in place to prevent it as much as possible.
You should be aware that you can never completely eliminate technical debt. Life’s messy, and we don’t live in a coding utopia. This is not the matrix (or is it?!), where people download all the Apex documentation to their brain within minutes.
If only it was that easy… So in this article I’ll discuss some of the components which can help you prevent technical debt as possible. A nice side effect is that if you implement these, the development process is smoother than 80% of all business out there.
It can help you squash bugs with lightning speed (or classic if you’re into that kind of thing), and if done correctly can turn you into a development train which is nigh unstoppable. So let’s get started!
#1 Have a proper branching strategy in place
This is the big one. The foundation on which everything else is built. Do this wrong, and you’ll have built your house on quicksand. I’d argue that using Git should be the number one, but I’ve seen plenty of companies claiming to use GIT, without having a proper branching strategy in place, and it always leads to complications. Every. Single. Time
#2 Use Git
Can’t have a proper branching strategy in place if you’re not using Git. Read here for a basic implementation of it.
#3 Implement coding standards
Everytime a new developer is onboarded, it should be clear how development is being done.
#4 Perform automated code checks
This can be anything from stuff like Clayton, or the open-source PMD.
#5 Perform. Peer. Reviews
Within a organization where development is being done, it’s imperative to make use of peer reviews.