Whack a Mole Development:
When making changes to a section of code, causes other bugs, sometimes recurring, to pop up. I.E. You fix one bug, and three other bugs pop up after you release.
Have you ever worked on code where troubleshooting bugs was like playing a game whack a mole. I have worked on a few applications that seem to have taken this idea to heart.
If you encounter an application that not very stable, many time your options for dealing with it are limited. You just have to work within the constraints of the system. Previously I have mentioned, defensive development as a technique to cope with difficult system. This is an example of controlling what you can, the new code, and fixes you introduce into the system.
When dealing with difficult systems your best weapon is going to be communication. Make everything as clear as possible. Make your new code readable, understandable, and most importantly comment what you changed, and why you needed to change it. Keep documentation on the system. Document critical, and time consuming tasks. If a process took you a week to update, document it, and it will take the next guy half as long.
The most important technique for dealing with difficult systems is asking questions, and making sure you understand what people are asking. Many times “whack a mole” conditions are caused by mis-communication, and lack of knowledge.
Maintaining difficult systems is a reality for many developers. This is as important, or more important of a development skill as creating new applications. Many time maintenance programming is far more difficult than new development, because you have to work outside of your code “comfort zone”.
