Code Velocity: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Abstract: Code velocity, or how fast the code changes integrate into a production environment from inception, plays a crucial role in daily engineering practices for companies like Google, Facebook, or Microsoft. We examine the motivation for research related to code velocity, actual findings versus the myths, and a set of impactful research topics that practitioners consider valuable. Brace yourself for contrarian views on software engineering from the trenches.

Bio: Gunnar Kudrjavets is a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of Groningen. Together with his Ph.D. supervisor Dr. Ayushi Rastogi, he is interested in everything relating to code velocity. Before taking an extended leave from the industry, Gunnar spent fifteen years at Microsoft and five years at Facebook working on various systems programming-related problems. His primary focus was on operating systems development, performance, and security. Most of his research is motivated by frustration resulting from challenges that a practicing software engineer encounters daily.