You're faced with tight project deadlines. How do you ensure code quality doesn't suffer?

My team and I have worked many times under tight deadlines. We prioritize tasks based on how important each feature is. If a feature is less important, we keep it for later updates. This helps us plan better.We also make sure to follow basic code structures and use the SOLID principles. This way, our code stays clean and easy to understand.

Implementing automated testing early in the development process is crucial, as it allows for continuous integration and quick detection of issues. Unit tests should be written for individual components to ensure they function as expected, while integration tests verify that different modules work together. Code reviews and pair programming can also enhance quality by providing additional sets of eyes to catch potential errors and enforce best practices. Prioritizing tasks and focusing on critical functionalities first can help manage time effectively, ensuring that even under pressure, the core elements of the project maintain high standards of quality.

As already mentioned by others, the key is to focus on what really matters. Prioritizing is the way to go, automate your testing if possible, and stick to your coding standards. Keeping in constant touch with your team and stakeholders is also a plus. We can also use tools like linters and code reviews to catch issues early, and just keep in mind that it's okay to plan for some cleanup after the deadline. The goal is to find that sweet spot between speed and quality. With a bit of planning and the right approach, we can deliver on time without sacrificing the integrity of our codebase and finally have some trust in your self.

Ensuring code quality under tight project deadlines requires strategic planning and effective team management. Start by prioritizing tasks and focusing on the most critical features. Implement automated testing and continuous integration to catch issues early. Encourage pair programming and code reviews to maintain high standards and share knowledge. Utilize coding standards and best practices to ensure consistency. Allocate time for refactoring and technical debt reduction, even if it’s minimal. Clear communication and realistic expectations with stakeholders can help manage deadlines without compromising quality.

Prioritize essential features that deliver the most value. Use methods like the Eisenhower Matrix to differentiate between urgent and important tasks. This ensures that critical functionalities are completed first, without overwhelming the team with low-priority items.

Code review is the important phase for every feature design and development. We have to ensure the developer refers to the requirement and design. Also, the developer should be performed/prepared static code analysis and self review checklist. The static code analysis report, development testing report and self review checklist should be attached for the code review as per the process. So, the above mentioned work products will ensure the code quality along with code review activity.

Code Reviews are extremely important for high-quality deliverables! It's important to have automated testing and use CI/CD, but if you think these can replace code reviews - think again. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I worked on projects that did code reviews and others that didn't, and in those that didn't the quality was lower (sometimes hiding issues that were only uncovered way too late in the development process or longe after). My Tip: Institute rigorous code reviews to catch errors early, enforce coding standards, and ensure adherence to best practices, promoting maintainability and reducing technical debt.

Code reviews not only contribute to higher quality, they also promote feedback loops/learnings to other developers. Therefore my opinion is that junior developers should also review work from seniors. Second point is that I also like to do a functional UX / UI test in addition to reviewing the code, not only to verify if it works but also to act as end user looking at the screens for the first time (unless there is a dedicated testing team doing this type of review). This approach has prevented numerous easy overlooked mistakes and improved overall quality in my work environment..

In the fast-paced world of software development, meeting tight deadlines is a common challenge. However, ensuring code quality is equally crucial. I maintain high standards even when time is short through code reviews. No matter how tight the deadline, I always allocate time for thorough code reviews. This step is non-negotiable as it ensures the code is robust and maintainable.

Maybe I am spoiled with my teams, maybe because I enforce that Done is Done. The Done checklist simply reflects de software development process (and more) but requirements, documentation, code, unit tests, integration tests all have an equal activity in reviewing them. Focusing on "Code Review" gives me the impression that the development process is not accepted by ... (fill-in the role who is trying to enforce speeding-up). The development processes are most of the time very wel thought of and filled with experience, skipping any step will for sure somewhere in the future haunt you - often with much more negative impact - so take your time always to properly follow the processes, it will gain you overall project duration and quality.

Utilizing automated tools for static code analysis and continuous integration helps in identifying issues early and maintaining consistent code quality. It is necessary to invest time to build an end to end pipeline through automation wherever possible to reduce efforts when there is very tight dealine.

Investing in automated testing is expensive but it will pays in the long run. Instead of just a safety net, it is a gate for faster release cycle and better quality. With great automation, the team can be confident about the quality of the release and also can reduce main time between commit to release faster.

Automated test strategy may also include a combination of the below application security strategies: - Static application security testing (SAST): this test is performed during the development phase, and will identify source code pattern which can be bugs, security defects or bad practices. - Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) : this test will ideally be performed on a version of the application running in iso-production environment - Software Composition Analysis: Software composition analysis (SCA) is an automated process that identifies the open source software to evaluate security, license compliance, and code quality.

Write your test cases before you write the code. This way the tests will be more relevant and functional and not likely to be biased. Ideally have a separate developer write the test cases to provide independent view of functional testing from the developer.

Automated tools permits scalability. You want the ability to change code and add code without affecting previous functionalities. Automated unit testing in your codebase is the key. Think about it, we want our resources free and allocated to new features, in order to permit business to grow. Having resources busy by maintenance or refactoring and testing is the best way to kill your company. Motivation is high when people deal with new things and that’s the deal between you as the representative of the company and the employee. Keep this is mine, do your best to keep your efforts focused on new things, adding values to the business.

Refactoring is essential and should be performed continuously. However, besides throwing everything into a big bucket of ‘technical debt’, help yourself and fellow devs by applying the Boy Scout Rule. This can be as simple as renaming methods/functions/variables to more meaningful names. This might seem trivial but 70% of the time you are reading code, not writing it.

it’s really necessary to get feedback and refactor regularly, it is a mechanism and is a must to do for projects to reach best practices.

Incorporate small, incremental refactoring into daily tasks. This prevents the accumulation of technical debt and keeps the codebase clean and maintainable. Encourage developers to continuously improve their code during each commit or pull request.

Maintainig code quality is an iterative process and the part of the job of every developer after every task completed is leaving the codebase a bit cleaner than when they found it. This way you avoid "big costly refactoring".

Sempre, um código que já funciona pode ser melhorado. Fazer refatora??es é uma forma para manter o código sempre em evolu??o e você também.

The best code is code not written at all. Thus tries to write less code that leads to less technical debt. That being said, just like any debt, it will be better to pays it regularly and as quick as possible before it compounded and blows the system. Keep tracks of them and dedicate engineering hours to gradually pays them.

When there is a hurry, team may tend to go for easy but complicated solutions hard to look after. The best approach may be informing the team while there is an hurry, still they need to make sure that they are not building up technical debt as they move along. Developers are the only people who create code on daily basis, so it is foremost their responsibilty to keep the code clean. Practicing regular refactoring may also help.

As a technical leader the keen eye on technical debt solves half the battle whenever urgent deliveries are on the cart. Technical debt should have dedicated man hours and be continuous integration process. If you have good grasp on domain and the backlog , you can better define priority for the listed debts and many times it happens the last month delivery of technical debt and introduction of better pattern and style of coding gave great impact to new feature delivery that arose as part of urgent business demand

Acredito que devido a prazos e momentos do mercado sempre acabamos acumulando um pouco de dívida técnica. Mas perceber e corrigir esse "pequenos" problemas antes de virar uma bola de neve evita grandes dores de cabe?a no futuro.

Una de las cosas más importantes es trabajar en los tiempos menos demandantes en la deuda técnica, refactorizando y mejorando el código en busca de vulnerabilidades y puntos a perfeccionar en la integración continua

If a deadline is tight and you can't add more developers due to all kinds of reasons, then you must make choices in the amount of functionality that you can deliver. Using agile methods will allow you to remain flexible while keeping things organised. Use refinement, standups, sprints and reviews to keep track of the progress and remaining scope. While ensuring the end goal is kept in mind while making course corrections.

Using the agile method helps you to remain dogged in making sure the best codes are applied. As tiring trying to meet deadlines could be, it is therefore better to ensure one stays agile as it helps to keep one on track. Going for exercises, taking a stroll and taking soft drinks could also help boost a person's immune system in staying agile.

With respect to pure software development this is true in my experience, but you might need to switch from method. When software is part of a system, somewhere there is integration and handover to production. I often switch from Scrum (development) to KanBan for integration and handover to production (and maybe later for a new software release back to Scrum).

Initiate discussions with the POs (Product Owners) for prioritizing the MVP (Minimum Viable Product). When possible, early Testing and Demos for end-users.

Communication: Ensure right communication so that every team meme er, cross functional member understands the requirements & aligned to the plan. Create a mechanism to get help & make micro decisions in priority. Risk Mitigation: Identify risks and ensure mitigation are aligned. Do POC for tech risks if required. Architecture: Efficiency depend on architecture & team structure. Make sure Architecture is good so the code dont hav duplication and clear boundary of roles. Use existing tech or open source if required. Culture & leadership: Not everything can be figured out by architecture and process. The team shud be open and gel together so they figure out the solutions easily among themselves.

Gen AI based unit test code injection and testing. Gen AI based code quality analysis on every check in. Train the model to fit the need as per the organisation which will benefit at anytime.

Maintain open and transparent communication with stakeholders. Clearly communicate the impact of scope changes or resource limitations on the project timeline and quality. Collaboratively find solutions that balance project goals with realistic deliverables.

First, we need to communicate with the stakeholders and the team to discuss the key objectives of the project. We should focus on the required functionalities and determine the critical features that must be delivered by day one. We need to consider a smaller version of the project that meets the client's immediate needs, leaving additional functionalities to be delivered at a later stage. In any case, we should prioritize functionalities and start the implementation based on these priorities. We will implement two daily 5-minute speed meetings with the core programming team to address any issues that may arise.