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"A rebuild is never finished, only started" "Technical rebuilds are doomed to fail" "One does not simply walk into Mordor" We're rebuilding Culture Amp's second largest product - Performance. It's 9 years old, came in as a Series A acquisition 5 years ago, has over 2700 customers with the largest one at 77k users. Against conventional wisdom, we're rebuilding it from the ground up with an aggressive timeline. The underlying model is outdated, slow to iterate on, and not extensible. The monoliths are riddled with tech debt, tightly coupled, patched and band-aided over many times, and won't scale to the $3b global Performance market we're targeting. That wasn't challenging enough already I'm also using this opportunity to rebuild our engineering culture. Setting a high bar for engineering standards, ways of working, and hoping to improve engagement as we go.
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In the presentation titled "One does not simply... rebuild a product," Prakriti Mateti, a director of engineering at Culture Amp, discusses the challenges and strategies involved in rebuilding the company's Performance product. This product, which is nine years old and has a significant customer base, is being rebuilt from the ground up due to its outdated infrastructure and accumulated technical debt. Mateti outlines the reasons for the rebuild and shares the team's journey towards creating a new framework that aligns with the company’s ambition to capture a $3 billion global market. Key points discussed include: - **Recognition of Need for Rebuild**: Mateti emphasizes the necessity of acknowledging when a rebuild is required. Despite attempts to address technical debt and optimize the existing system, the team concluded that these efforts would not suffice. - **Challenges with Monoliths**: The existing system comprised two monoliths, leading to complex interdependencies and significant tech debt. Eight teams struggled to introduce new features without colliding with each other’s work, resulting in decreased ownership and accountability. - **Initial Attempts to Refactor**: Before deciding on a full rebuild, the team first tried various methods to mitigate tech debt and attempted piecemeal re-architectures. However, these efforts proved too slow to keep up with market demands. - **Radical Reset**: After recognizing that previous approaches would not lead to desired outcomes, the team opted for a complete overhaul of the product. Mateti discusses the importance of establishing buy-in from various stakeholders and clearly articulating the vision for the rebuild. - **Building Trust and Transparency**: The presentation highlights the value of operating with transparency and trust, seeking forgiveness rather than permission throughout the rebuilding process. - **First Slice Strategy**: Mateti outlines a plan to validate their new architecture by initially focusing on a single component, referred to as \'Self Reflections\', rather than attempting an exhaustive rebuild all at once. - **Setting Engineering Standards**: The rebuild aims not only to refresh the product technically but also to enhance the engineering culture at Culture Amp, promoting high standards, engagement, and fast-moving teams. In conclusion, Mateti's insights provide valuable lessons on navigating product rebuilds, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the need for change, securing stakeholder buy-in, and focusing on transparent communication. The journey of rebuilding the Performance product is shared as a case study to assist others who may find themselves in similar situations, providing hope and guidance amidst challenges.
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