Is Some Refactored Code *Actually* Better? Facilitating Disagreements Between Humans and Robots

The Mob Mentality Show

Is some refactored code truly better—or is it just a matter of taste? In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we explore the debate: Is some refactoring a subjective preference or an objective improvement?
Join us as we dive into the fascinating world of refactoring, where code quality, team dynamics, and even artificial intelligence (AI) come into play. Here’s what we discussed:

• The Ice Cream Debate: The story of a team/mob navigating a series of refactorings and asking, Are these changes about style, like preferring chocolate over vanilla? Or is there an objective improvement in the code?
• Cognitive Load, Cyclomatic Complexity, and More: How refactored code impacts key factors like cognitive load (mental effort required to understand code), cyclomatic complexity (a measure of the number of independent paths through a program), readability, and maintainability.
• Copilot AI's Take: Results of analyzing “before and after” versions of refactored code using Copilot AI (a large language model or LLM trained for coding). Does the AI agree with human developers?
• Gray Areas vs. Black-and-White Decisions: How much of refactoring is clear-cut improvement versus a matter of debate?
• Coaching Through Disagreements: Strategies to coach a team through potentially heated refactoring disagreements. Should you stick to principles or let the team run experiments in production against the principles?
• Decision-Making Tactics: How to align on contentious refactoring decisions. Should you flip a coin, follow a guiding principle, or defer to team consensus?
• Principles and North Stars: Identifying which coding principles matter most to your team and using them as a decision-making anchor.
• Dealing with Apathy: How to engage team members who are indifferent to coding principles and quality debates.
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Applying Stephen Covey’s timeless principles to facilitate productive refactoring discussions and team collaboration.
• Diversity of Opinion as a Strength: Embracing different perspectives to make your team or mob/team stronger and more innovative.
• Radical Candor vs. Safe Experiments: Balancing direct feedback with the freedom to experiment—even if it means running tests in production.
• “Stop the Line” Moments: Deciding when a refactoring disagreement is serious enough to halt progress versus letting safe experiments play out.

Whether you’re a developer, team lead, or software architect, this episode is packed with insights to improve your approach to refactoring and team dynamics.
👉 Don’t miss this thought-provoking discussion!
Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/s2bl7dFAIV0