Other than when you are very close to a deadline, however, you should not put off refactoring because you haven’t got time. Experience with several projects has shown that a bout of refactoring results in increased productivity. Not having enough time usually is a sign that you need to do some refactoring.
— Martin Fowler, Kent Beck, John Brant, William Opdyke, Don Roberts, and Erich Gamma, Refactoring
PREVIOUS04/07/2026