Marty Haught: Rethinking Technical Debt—Is It Really Just Drift?

More from Maintainable All episodes →

1. 

   E204 · 1 Apr 2025 · 1 hr 9 min

   Evan Phoenix: The Why of the One Line

   What if trying to “future-proof” your code is actually making it harder to maintain? Evan Phoenix shares how a well-intentioned monolith split went sideways—and why clarity and confidence matter more than cleverness.

2. 

   E203 · 25 Mar 2025 · 47 min

   Chris Salvato: Building Developer Paradise by Sitting in the Problem Space

   Senior Staff Engineer Chris Salvato believes that understanding real bottlenecks starts with focusing on the problem space. Instead of rushing in to fix legacy code, he listens—deeply—to the people behind it. By trimming bloat and clarifying the domain, Chris reveals how a few carefully chosen changes can transform a codebase.

3. 

   E202 · 18 Mar 2025 · 41 min

   Heimir Thor Sverrisson: Architecture First, Tech Debt Second

   Sustainable software starts with sustainable architecture. Heimir Thor Sverrisson joins Robby to discuss why poor architectural decisions make maintenance a losing battle, how technical debt should be managed, and why adding more CPUs won’t always fix your performance problems.

4. 

   E201 · 11 Mar 2025 · 42 min

   Noémi Ványi: Only Fix Problems That Are Actually Problems

   Not every messy piece of code needs a refactor. Noémi Ványi joins Robby to discuss how to decide when technical debt is worth paying down, why developer autonomy matters, and how intuition plays a key role in software sustainability.

5. 

   E200 · 25 Feb 2025 · 51 min

   Julia López: Code Tells a Story—Even the White Spaces

   What can legacy code tell us—beyond just functionality? Julia Lopez shares how even white spaces and variable names reveal a system’s history. She and Robby dive into mentoring, refactoring, and the realities of rewriting Harvest’s billing system.

6. 

   E198 · 11 Feb 2025 · 45 min

   Mike Bowers - From ISAM to JSON—Navigating 40+ Years of Database Evolution

   For over 40 years, FairCom has evolved its database technology from ISAM to high-performance JSON APIs. Mike Bowers, Chief Architect at FairCom, joins Robby to discuss the complexities of maintaining a legacy codebase while innovating for the future. What does it take to modernize without breaking everything?

7. 

   E197 · 28 Jan 2025 · 43 min

   Lorna Mitchell: Writing Documentation Engineers Will Actually Read

   Why is documentation often overlooked but so critical to success? Lorna Mitchell shares practical strategies for writing documentation engineers will actually read and explains how thoughtful API design and open source stewardship create more maintainable software.

8. 

   E196 · 21 Jan 2025 · 43 min

   Carola Lilienthal: Tackling Technical Debt with Patterns and Domain Knowledge

   What role do architecture, modularity, and domain knowledge play in reducing technical debt? Join Robby as he chats with Carola Lilienthal about designing maintainable software, using cognitive science to simplify systems, and the importance of patterns for sustainable development.

9. 

   E195 · 14 Jan 2025 · 46 min

   Joel Hawksley: The Hidden Costs of Frontend Complexity

   Joel Hawksley, Staff Software Engineer at GitHub, joins Robby to discuss the challenges of scaling frontend systems and ensuring accessibility across a massive platform. With over six years of experience at GitHub, Joel reflects on the evolution of their design system, Primer, the importance of changeability in software, and strategies for addressing the complexities of frontend maintenance.

10. 

    E194 · 10 Dec 2024 · 47 min

    Austin Story: Making Software Easier to Change, Remove, and Evolve

    What makes software maintainable and easy to evolve? Austin Story shares his approach to simplifying systems, migrating architectures, and fostering a culture of intentional development.