Project Fit & Commitment
Should I rebuild my app from scratch or improve existing code?
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You should only rebuild from scratch if the backend is fundamentally flawed, unmaintainable, or blocking core features. Otherwise, improving and refactoring existing code is typically faster and cheaper.
Consider rebuilding when:
•Technical debt is insurmountable
•Architecture can't support required features
•Maintenance costs exceed rebuild costs
Note: With modern AI code assistants, starting from a clean slate is no longer as expensive or time-consuming as it used to be. The balance between refactoring and rebuilding is being redefined.
rebuild vs refactortechnical debtapp modernizationcode rewriteexisting code
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