Management Section Intro: Tidy Together Chapter

How do engineering teams coordinate refactoring without blocking feature work?

Refactoring is fundamentally a team activity, not a solo optimization. When tidying code, engineers must coordinate with teammates to avoid conflicts, blocked PRs, and thrashing—requiring explicit communication about scope, timing, and who owns which sections.

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Questions this essay answers

  • How should teams coordinate refactoring to avoid merge conflicts and blocked work?
  • Who decides what code gets tidied and when it happens?
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