I was making a diplomatic comment about some software I was refactoring, “Regardless of the original programmer’s vision, the original code doesn’t work with the final state.” I realized that my version of the code won’t be the final state either. When you work in SaaS, code doesn’t have a final state.
SaaS code has history; it was written to solve a problem. It may have evolved to solve the problem better, it may have evolved because the problem changed.
SaaS code has a present; it is what it is. It solves a problem for some customers. The code might be amazing, but frustrates customers because the problem has changed. The code could be terrible but delights customers because it perfectly solves a static problem.
The code may have a future. The problem can change, the implementation can change.
What SaaS code doesn’t have is a final state. Until you delete it, you can never look at a piece of code and say that won’t be changed again.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that once you refactor some code, the code will be in its final state. The Service in SaaS will change over time, your code will change with it.
