Code As A Crime Scene: Fix Technical Debt with Behavioral Code Analysis
GOTO Chicago 2020

Code As A Crime Scene: Fix Technical Debt with Behavioral Code Analysis

Thursday Apr 30
13:30 –
16:30
Masterclass Room 3
Friday May 1
09:00 –
12:00
Masterclass Room 3
845.00 USD

The full class is spread out over two days. Signing up grants you access to both days indicated in the time slots shown above.

In this masterclass you’ll learn novel analysis techniques that support both technical and organizational decisions around your codebase. The techniques use data from the most underused informational source available in the industry: our version-control system. Combined with metaphors from forensic psychology, you’ll learn to analyze version-control data to:

  • Identify the code that’s most expensive to maintain among millions of lines of code
  • Detect architectural decay and learn to control it
  • Analyze different architectures such as layers and microservices
  • Measure how multiple developers influence code quality and what you can do about it
  • Uncover the social side of your codebase and learn to use the data to guide on- and off-boarding

During the workshop you get access to CodeScene — a behavioral code analysis tool that automates the analyses — which you’ll use for the practical exercises. You’ll also discuss open source alternatives where suitable, and see how to use Git itself for data mining. Participants are encouraged to take this opportunity to analyze their own codebase and get specific takeaway information around their system.

Prerequisites: The masterclass is language neutral. The target audience is architects, senior developers and technical managers. While you won't write any code during the class, the participants need to be comfortable with reading code. Detailed preparations with installation instructions for the tools will be sent out in advance.

Style: Hands-on; bring your own laptop. The masterclass is based on the books Your Code As A Crime Scene (2015) and Software Design X-Rays (2018) by the instructor.