# James Socol: Building Social Capital in Engineering Teams

EP-175 | July 16, 2024 | 44:18




Join Robby as he chats with James Socol, Staff Engineer at Fastly, about building social capital in engineering teams, maintaining legacy code, and the concept of technical depreciation.





## Show Notes

In this episode of the Maintainable Software Podcast, Robby Russell sits down with James Socol, a Staff Engineer at Fastly, to discuss the art of maintaining legacy code and the nuances of technical debt versus technical depreciation.

### Key Topics Discussed:

- **Characteristics of Well-Maintained Code:** James shares his insights on what defines well-maintained code, emphasizing the importance of continuous maintenance, testing, and encapsulation.
- **Technical Debt vs. Technical Depreciation:** James introduces the concept of technical depreciation, distinguishing it from technical debt and explaining how time affects software maintenance.
- **Balancing Old and New Patterns:** The discussion explores the challenges of integrating modern standards into legacy systems and finding a healthy balance.
- **20% Time for Maintenance:** James advocates for dedicating a portion of engineering capacity to maintenance tasks, drawing parallels to Google's 20% time concept.
- **Onboarding Strategies:** James offers valuable advice for new hires, emphasizing observation, gradual involvement, and building social capital within the team.
- **Continuous Delivery and Big Changes:** Insights into managing significant changes in a continuous delivery environment, with practical strategies for maintaining stability.

### Resources Mentioned:

- [Riot Engineering Blog: A Taxonomy of Tech Debt](https://technology.riotgames.com/news/taxonomy-tech-debt)
- [Silicon Valley Product Group](https://www.svpg.com/)
- [Laura Hogan's Donut Theory](https://larahogan.me/donuts/)

### Books:

- [Getting to Yes](https://www.williamury.com/getting-to-yes/) by Roger Fisher & William Ury
- [Turn the Ship Around](https://davidmarquet.com/turn-the-ship-around-book/) by L. David Marquet

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## Transcript