Clean Code

Don't do big restructure, improve incrementally.
- One of the berst ways to ruin a probem is to make massive changes in the name of improvement
- Keep the system running at all times
- Make a tiny change, then run the tests
Always check-in code a little better than it was before.
Testing: rspec, test_unit
Open/Closed Principal: open for extension but closed for modification - or - create a barrier between those things that change and those things that don't.
Professionals write tests first
Professionals cleanup code
Professionals know that the only way to go fast -- is to go well

Is it worth it to clean up code?

Bad code gets harder and harder to clean as time goes by.
You should clean code as soon as it gets messy.
This takes less time than debugging code later
Nothing has a more profound and long-term degrading effect than bad code:
- Bad schedules can be redone
- Bad requirements can be redefined
- Bad team dynamcis can be resolved

After dinnner, get up and walk away and don't clear or do the dishes
Or, keep the dishes clean all the time
Dinner will take longer, but the whole process of preparing dinner will be quicker