Categories
Featured-Post-Software-EN Software Engineering (EN)

Refactoring Software Code: Benefits, Risks, and Winning Strategies

Auteur n°2 – Jonathan

By Jonathan Massa
Views: 1096

Summary – Accumulated technical debt stifles innovation, increases maintenance costs, and raises the risk of regressions or downtime with any change. Refactoring restores agility and resilience by clarifying architecture, eliminating redundancies, and boosting performance, but requires tight planning, a limited scope, and automated testing to prevent budget overruns and incidents.
Solution: comprehensive audit → incremental batches validated by CI/CD and automated tests to secure each iteration and maximize ROI.

Refactoring involves restructuring existing code without altering its functional behavior, in order to improve maintainability, robustness, and scalability. In contexts where IT teams inherit solutions developed hastily or without a long-term vision, the technical debt quickly becomes a barrier to innovation and a significant cost center. By investing in a solid refactoring approach, organizations can turn this liability into a sustainable competitive advantage. However, if poorly orchestrated, refactoring can lead to service interruptions, additional costs, delays, and regressions. This article breaks down the challenges of refactoring, its business benefits, the risks to anticipate, and winning strategies to optimize each phase.

Understanding Refactoring and Its Challenges

Refactoring cleans up and organizes code without changing its functionality, reducing technical debt and limiting regression risks. It creates a clearer, more modular foundation to support innovation but requires a thorough understanding of the existing codebase and its dependencies.

Definition and Objectives of Refactoring

Refactoring refers to all modifications made to the internal structure of software to improve code readability, modularity, and overall quality.
These changes must not alter the functional behavior: end users perceive no difference, while development teams gain agility in implementing new features and speed in fixing defects. This improves performance, facilitates maintenance, and results in more flexible, scalable software with fewer bugs and limitations.

When to Initiate a Refactoring Project

A refactoring project is justified when the codebase becomes difficult to maintain, delivery timelines worsen, and test coverage is no longer sufficient to ensure stability.
For example, a Swiss industrial company operating a critical business application found that every fix took on average three times longer than at project launch. After an audit, it undertook targeted refactoring of its data access layers, reducing ticket processing time by 40% and minimizing production incidents.

The Connection with Technical Debt

Technical debt represents the accumulation of quick fixes or compromises made to meet tight deadlines, at the expense of quality and documentation.
If left unaddressed, this debt increases maintenance costs and hampers agility. Refactoring acts as a partial or full repayment of this debt, restoring a healthy foundation for future developments.
Indeed, when technical debt grows too large and it becomes difficult to evolve the software—because every task requires too much effort or is unfeasible due to the current software’s rigid structure—it’s time to proceed with either refactoring or a complete software rebuild. The choice between rebuilding and refactoring depends on the business context and the size of the gap between the current software architecture and the desired one.

Business and Technical Benefits of Refactoring

Refactoring significantly improves code maintainability, reduces support costs, and accelerates development cycles. It strengthens robustness and promotes scalability, providing a stable foundation for innovation without compromising operational performance.

Reduced Maintenance Costs

Well-structured and well-documented code requires less effort for fixes and enhancements, resulting in a significant reduction in the support budget.
Internal or external teams spend less time understanding the logic, enabling resources to be refocused on high-value projects and accelerating time-to-market.

Improved Flexibility and Scalability

Breaking the code into coherent modules makes it easier to add new features or adapt to evolving business requirements without causing conflicts or regressions.
For instance, a Swiss financial services company refactored its internal calculation engine by isolating business rules within microservices. This new architecture enabled the rapid integration of new regulatory indicators and reduced compliance implementation time by 60%.

Enhanced Performance and Agility

By eliminating redundancies and optimizing algorithms, refactoring can improve application response times and scalability under heavy load.
Reducing bottlenecks and optimizing server resource consumption also contributes to a better user experience and a more cost-effective infrastructure.

Edana: strategic digital partner in Switzerland

We support companies and organizations in their digital transformation

Risks and Pitfalls of Poorly Managed Refactoring

Poorly planned refactoring can lead to service interruptions, regressions, and budget overruns. It is essential to anticipate dependencies, define a precise scope, and secure each phase to avoid operational consequences.

Risks of Service Interruptions and Downtime

Deep code structure changes without proper procedures can cause service outages, impacting operational continuity and user satisfaction.
Without testing and progressive deployment processes, certain modifications may propagate to production before detection or generate unexpected behaviors during peak activity. It is therefore crucial to organize properly and involve QA experts, DevOps engineers, and software developers throughout the process. Planning is also critical to avoid any surprises.

Functional Regressions

Deleting or modifying code segments considered obsolete can impact hidden features, often not covered by automated tests.
These regressions are often detected late, triggering a domino effect across other modules and leading to costly rollbacks in both time and resources.

Scope Creep and Cost Overruns

Without clear objectives and rigorous scope management, a refactoring project can quickly expand, multiplying development hours and associated costs.
For example, a Swiss distribution company had planned targeted refactoring of a few components, but the lack of clear governance led to the integration of an additional set of features. The initial budget was exceeded by 70%, delaying delivery by six months.

Winning Strategies for Successful Refactoring

A structured, incremental approach based on automation ensures refactoring success and risk control. Combining a precise audit, robust testing, and phased deployment secures each step and maximizes ROI.

Audit and Preliminary Planning

Before any intervention, a comprehensive assessment of the code, its dependencies, and test coverage is essential to identify critical points.
This audit quantifies technical debt, sets priorities based on business impact, and defines a realistic schedule aligned with the IT roadmap and business needs.

Incremental and Controlled Approach

Breaking refactoring into functional, testable, and independently deliverable batches prevents tunnel effects and limits the risk of global incidents.
Each batch should be accompanied by clear acceptance criteria and review milestones, involving IT teams, business stakeholders, and quality experts to ensure buy-in and coherence.

Automation and Testing Culture

Integrating CI/CD tools and automated test suites (unit, integration, and end-to-end) secures every change and accelerates deployments.
Implementing coverage metrics and proactive alerts on code defects fosters continuous improvement and prevents the reintroduction of technical debt.

Transform Your Code into an Innovation Driver with Software Refactoring

When conducted rigorously, refactoring reduces technical debt, strengthens stability, and provides a healthy foundation for scalability and innovation. The benefits include reduced maintenance timeframes, increased agility, and improved application performance. Risks are minimized when the project is based on a thorough audit, an incremental approach, and extensive automation.

If your organization wants to turn its legacy code into a strategic asset, our experts are ready to support you from auditing to establishing a culture of lasting quality. Benefit from contextual partnerships based on scalable, secure, and modular open-source solutions without vendor lock-in to ensure the longevity of your digital ecosystem.

Discuss your challenges with an Edana expert

By Jonathan

Technology Expert

PUBLISHED BY

Jonathan Massa

As a specialist in digital consulting, strategy and execution, Jonathan advises organizations on strategic and operational issues related to value creation and digitalization programs focusing on innovation and organic growth. Furthermore, he advises our clients on software engineering and digital development issues to enable them to mobilize the right solutions for their goals.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about software refactoring

What is software refactoring and why undertake it?

Software refactoring restructures existing code to improve readability, modularity, and maintainability without altering its external behavior. It reduces technical debt, accelerates feature delivery, and lowers support costs. By cleaning up legacy or hastily written code, teams gain agility, making it faster to implement new requirements and more reliable to address defects.

When should a company consider initiating refactoring?

Initiate refactoring when maintenance effort grows, delivery timelines slip, or test coverage fails to ensure stability. Common triggers include rising production incidents, lengthy bug fixes, or onboarding delays due to complex code. An audit identifying critical bottlenecks will help prioritize and justify a targeted refactoring phase aligned with business priorities.

How does refactoring help manage technical debt?

Technical debt accumulates through quick fixes and workarounds. Refactoring repays this debt by restructuring code, improving documentation, and consolidating redundant logic. This process restores a clean, modular foundation, reducing future maintenance costs and preventing the debt from escalating into unmanageable constraints for new feature development.

What are the main risks of a poorly managed refactoring?

Without careful planning and testing, refactoring can trigger service outages, functional regressions, and scope creep. Unmapped dependencies may break hidden features, while budget and timeline overruns can result from unclear objectives. Engaging QA, defining a precise scope, and securing each phase are essential to mitigate these risks.

Which strategies ensure a successful refactoring project?

Adopt a structured, incremental approach: start with a comprehensive code audit, define clear priorities, and break work into independent, testable batches. Implement rigorous acceptance criteria for each iteration, involve stakeholders, and review progress regularly to maintain alignment with business goals and technical standards.

How can automation and testing support refactoring?

Integrating CI/CD pipelines with automated unit, integration, and end-to-end tests secures each refactoring step. Automated test suites detect regressions early, while coverage metrics and proactive alerts prevent new debt. This continuous feedback loop accelerates deployments and reinforces code quality.

How do you measure the benefits of refactoring?

Measure benefits through metrics like reduced defect resolution time, lower maintenance costs, and accelerated feature delivery. Track code quality indicators such as test coverage, code complexity, and modularity. Comparing key performance measures before and after refactoring demonstrates ROI and informs future improvements.

Can refactoring replace a full software rewrite?

Refactoring addresses debt within an existing architecture, extending its lifespan and improving performance. A full rewrite may be necessary when the gap between current and desired architecture is too large. The decision depends on business context, budget, and long-term scalability needs, determined through a detailed technical assessment.

CONTACT US

They trust us for their digital transformation

Let’s talk about you

Describe your project to us, and one of our experts will get back to you.

SUBSCRIBE

Don’t miss our strategists’ advice

Get our insights, the latest digital strategies and best practices in digital transformation, innovation, technology and cybersecurity.

Let’s turn your challenges into opportunities.

Based in Geneva, Edana designs tailor-made digital solutions for companies and organizations seeking greater competitiveness.

We combine strategy, consulting, and technological excellence to transform your business processes, customer experience, and performance.

Let’s discuss your strategic challenges:

022 596 73 70

Agence Digitale Edana sur LinkedInAgence Digitale Edana sur InstagramAgence Digitale Edana sur Facebook