We’ve found that we’ve made better choices over time on sustainable software stacks and development practices. We’ve consolidated more around some foundational, even boring, technologies that get the exciting work of meeting user needs done just as effectively. This has meant that we are no longer developing and updating skills with some of the older technologies we used in the past.
When should you deprecate or change software stacks? When should you adopt new technologies?
We can’t answer those questions, but once your answer is “now”, then consider how you’re going to stop using those technologies.
With as many services as your organization provides, do you have the depth and redundancy you’d like in the technologies and skills you need? It is a real challenge. Skills in the market change. For instance, maybe you were a PHP shop and you’re finding that you are hiring more python developers. When you’re noticing that you’re shallow in technologies you’ve used in the past, consider sunsetting when you don’t want to continue to maintain services in which you’re no longer actively building skills.
Page Updated: 2018-04-09