Article · 5 min read

Thinking about The Big Rewrite?

David Heinemeier Hansson · dhh.dk Free Beginner

A short, blunt warning from the creator of Rails. DHH argues that rewriting a working application from scratch in one big bang rarely succeeds, and points you toward evolving the system instead. It is a quick gut check to read before you commit your small team to months in a rewrite tunnel.

  • Big-bang rewrites of working apps usually fail
  • You underestimate how much the old code actually does
  • Evolve the existing system rather than restarting it
Open on dhh.dk ↗

The question it answers

  1. When is the right moment to stop iterating on the MVP and rebuild it properly, and how do I avoid the second-system rewrite trap?

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