Development PracticesDevelopment Practices
Byte size15min
BEGINNER

Building a legacy: The art of crafting maintainable systems

The talk emphasizes maintaining long-term service health over chasing perfect architectures. Drawing on years of legacy system experience, it offers practical strategies to manage aging code, avoid overcomplicated solutions, and build sustainable habits that keep systems maintainable and reduce future technical burdens.

Saman Nourkhalaj
Saman NourkhalajElastic

talkDetail.whenAndWhere

Wednesday, April 1, 11:30-11:45
Zaal 10
talks.roomOccupancytalks.noOccupancyInfo
talks.description
We often talk about building new systems, but we rarely talk about the reality of living with them 5 years later. Every engineering decision we make today eventually becomes "legacy," and without a clear approach to maintenance, even the best services can become a burden.

Drawing from over five years of working with legacy systems and overhauling them, I’ve realized that long-term success isn't about finding the "perfect" architecture but how we handle the inevitable friction of aging code. In this 15-minute session, I’ll share a few practical tips for keeping services maintainable without the drama. We’ll explore the hidden cost of clever solutions, the impact of tech adventures that go sideways, and the small habits that determine whether a system remains manageable or becomes a nightmare for the people inheriting it.
architecture
friction
legacy
maintenance
talks.speakers
Saman Nourkhalaj

Saman Nourkhalaj

Elastic

Netherlands

Saman is a Senior Software Engineer on the Security Intelligence team at Elastic, where she builds the services and data pipelines that security researchers rely on to uncover new threats. She focuses on writing sustainable code and ensuring the systems handling these flows remain maintainable. Outside of work, she is often immersed in fantasy novels, catching up on the One Piece anime, or experimenting with pizza recipes.

talkDetail.rateThisTalk

talkDetail.poortalkDetail.excellent

talkDetail.ratingNotYetAvailable

talkDetail.ratingAvailableWhenStarted

talkDetail.signInRequired

talkDetail.signInToRateDescription

occupancy.title

occupancy.votingNotYetAvailable

occupancy.votingAvailableBeforeStart

talkDetail.signInRequired

occupancy.signInToVoteDescription

comments.title

comments.speakerNotEnabledComments