This is the presentation that I gave as the keynote to kick of MenderCon 2020 on May 14, 2020.

1. @mscottford
ME DE CKE NO E P E EN A ION
M CO FO D
CEO CHIEF CODE HI PE E CO GIB E
CELEB A ING OF A E MAIN ENANCE

2. @mscottford
HI.

3. @mscottford
HI.
I’M SCOTT.

4. @mscottford
HI.
I LOVE TO FIX BUGS.
I’M SCOTT.

5. @mscottford
CAN I KEEP FIXING BUGS
AFTER MY TRAINING IS
OVER? IT’S FUN AND I
ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

6. @mscottford@mscottford
NO WAY. FEATURES ARE
MORE IMPORTANT THAN BUG
FIXES. THAT’S BENEATH YOU.
-ALL SCOTT’S FORMER BOSSES

7. @mscottford
IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?
BOTH CHANGE BEHAVIOR.
FEATURE BUG
ADDS
NEW
CAPABILITY
CORRECTS
EXISTING
CAPABILITY

8. @mscottford
WHAT HAPPENS IF
WE DEFER MAINTENANCE?
NO UPGRADES CRASHES DATA LOSS
WORK STOPPAGESLOWER PRODUCTIVITY
SECURITY VULNERABILITIES BREACHES
FRUSTRATING UX ANGRY CUSTOMERS
BAD PRESS MARKET SHARE LOSS
• •
•
•
•
•

9. @mscottford
DATABREACH-APALOOZA
SOURCE: https://www.csoonline.com/article/2130877/the-biggest-data-breaches-of-the-21st-century.html

10. @mscottford
NOT TO MENTION RANSOMWARE…
WannaCry would have taken out one
of our clients.
We upgraded in time and kept their
business safe.
Prevention is often invisible.
Sharing what WOULD have happened
to executives helped show the
benefits of regular maintenance.

11. @mscottford
NEW SYSTEMS MAY NOT BE FUNCTIONAL
SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/07/sba-disaster-loans/

12. @mscottford
BREAKDOWNS ARE
NEVER AT A GOOD TIME

13. @mscottford
FIXING BUGS IS GOOD
FOR BUSINESS
FEATURES BUG FIXES
ATTRACT
NEW
CUSTOMERS
RETAIN
EXISTING
CUSTOMERS

14. @mscottford

15. @andreagoulet
ANDREA, HELP ME BUILD A
BUSINESS WHERE I GET TO
FIX BUGS AND PAY DOWN
TECH DEBT ALL DAY.

16. @mscottford

17. @mscottford
MAKER (ADDING)
MENDER (CORRECTING)
HEALTHY
SOFTWARE
PROJECTS
NEED MORE
THAN ONE
TYPE OF
DEVELOPER

18. @mscottford
MAKER (ADDING)
MENDER (CORRECTING)
HACKER
(SPEED)
CRAFTER
(QUALITY)
HEALTHY
SOFTWARE
PROJECTS
NEED MORE
THAN ONE
TYPE OF
DEVELOPER

19. @mscottford
FEATURE
BUILDER
MAKER (ADDING)
MENDER (CORRECTING)
HACKER
(SPEED)
CRAFTER
(QUALITY)
HEALTHY
SOFTWARE
PROJECTS
NEED MORE
THAN ONE
TYPE OF
DEVELOPER

20. @mscottford
FEATURE
BUILDER
RAPID
PROTOTYPER
SOFTWARE
REMODELER
EMERGENCY
RESPONDER
• ESTABLISHED
MARKET
• USERS NEED MORE
• MEASURABLE ROI
• FEWER UNKNOWNS
• STABILITY MATTERS
• GROWING
USERBASE
PROJECT TRAITS
• DETAILED
• QUALITY-FOCUSED
• DELIBERATE
• USER-FOCUSED
• EXCITED BY
BUILDING NEW
THINGS
• PRAGMATIC
PEOPLE TRAITS
NEW THINGS
BUILT WELL
MAKER / CRAFTER

21. @mscottford
FEATURE
BUILDER
MAKER (ADDING)
MENDER (CORRECTING)
HACKER
(SPEED)
CRAFTER
(QUALITY)
RAPID
PROTOTYPER
HEALTHY
SOFTWARE
PROJECTS
NEED MORE
THAN ONE
TYPE OF
DEVELOPER

22. @mscottford
FEATURE
BUILDER
RAPID
PROTOTYPER
SOFTWARE
REMODELER
EMERGENCY
RESPONDER
• NEW CONCEPT
• MANY UNKNOWNS
• REQUIRES MARKET
VALIDATION
• HIGH RISK OF
CANCELATION
• SHORT SHELF-LIFE
• TIGHT DEADLINE
PROJECT TRAITS
• VERY ADAPTABLE
• OPTIMISTIC
• INVENTIVE
• EXPERIMENTATIVE
• THRIVES UNDER
PRESSURE
• “JUST SHIP IT”
MENTALITY
PEOPLE TRAITS
NEW IDEAS
IN A HURRY
MAKER / HACKER

23. @mscottford
FEATURE
BUILDER
MAKER (ADDING)
MENDER (CORRECTING)
HACKER
(SPEED)
CRAFTER
(QUALITY)
RAPID
PROTOTYPER
EMERGENCY
RESPONDER
HEALTHY
SOFTWARE
PROJECTS
NEED MORE
THAN ONE
TYPE OF
DEVELOPER

24. @mscottford
FEATURE
BUILDER
RAPID
PROTOTYPER
SOFTWARE
REMODELER
EMERGENCY
RESPONDER
• FREQUENT OUTAGES
• SITE CRASHES
• LOSS OF BUSINESS
FUNCTION
• FREQUENT
CUSTOMER
COMPLAINTS
• POOR NPS
PROJECT TRAITS
• VERY ADAPTABLE
• THRIVE UNDER
TIME PRESSURE
• DEFER ROOT CAUSE
INVESTIGATIONS
• INVESTIGATE FAST
• EXPERIMENT WITH
SOLUTIONS
PEOPLE TRAITS
TRIAGE AND
FIX IT FAST
MENDER / HACKER

25. @mscottford
FEATURE
BUILDER
MAKER (ADDING)
MENDER (CORRECTING)
HACKER
(SPEED)
CRAFTER
(QUALITY)
RAPID
PROTOTYPER
SOFTWARE
REMODELER
EMERGENCY
RESPONDER
HEALTHY
SOFTWARE
PROJECTS
NEED MORE
THAN ONE
TYPE OF
DEVELOPER

26. @mscottford
FEATURE
BUILDER
RAPID
PROTOTYPER
SOFTWARE
REMODELER
EMERGENCY
RESPONDER
• LEGACY SYSTEM
• UNADDRESSED
VULNERABILITIES
• RISKY DEPLOYMENT
• HIGH TECH DEBT
• CHANGE REQUIRES
IMMENSE EFFORT
• HUGE BUG LIST
PROJECT TRAITS
• DELIBERATE
• QUALITY FOCUSED
• PATIENT
• PERSISTENT
• DETERMINED
• GOOD AT POLISHING
• IDENTIFY ROOT
CAUSES
PEOPLE TRAITS
BETTER BIT
BY BIT
MENDER / CRAFTER

27. @mscottford
TWO PATHS FROM CRISIS TO STABILITY

28. @mscottford
CHOOSE WISELY.
BEWARE OF
YOUR BIAS.

29. @mscottford
FEATURE
BUILDER
MAKER (ADDING)
MENDER (CORRECTING)
HACKER
(SPEED)
CRAFTER
(QUALITY)
RAPID
PROTOTYPER
SOFTWARE
REMODELER
EMERGENCY
RESPONDER
TWO PATHS FROM CRISIS TO STABILITY
REPLACE REMODEL

30. @mscottford
TRANSFORMATION WITH CONTINUITY

31. @mscottford
OTHER PEOPLE
LOVE MENDING
LEGACY CODE?!
LET’S MAKE IT EASY TO STAY IN TOUCH

32. @mscottford
5 YEARS LATER….

33. @mscottford
ME DE C
LO E LEGAC CODE FIND O R RIBE HERE
CELEBRA ING SOF ARE MAIN ENANCE

34. @mscottford

35. @mscottford
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SCHEDULE

36. @mscottford
HOW PITCH SESSION WORKS

37. @mscottford
HOW TO MEET MENDERS TODAY

38. @mscottford
JOIN LEGACY CODE ROCKS

39. @mscottford
M. SCOTT FORD
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF CODE WHISPERER
scott@corgibytes.com
@mscottford
in/mscottford