How to Accidentally Destroy a Codebase (A Step-by-Step Guide) - Mariami Tsotsolashvili

This talk was recorded at NDC Oslo in Oslo, Norway. #ndcoslo #ndcconferences #developer #softwaredeveloper Attend the next NDC conference near you: https://ndcconferences.com https://ndcoslo.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel and learn every day: / @NDC Follow our Social Media! https://www.facebook.com/ndcconferences https://twitter.com/NDC_Conferences https://www.instagram.com/ndc_conferences/ #web #ethics #javascript #programminglanguages #angular In 30–40 minutes, I’ll “destroy” a small Angular app step by step — not with one dramatic mistake, but with the same well-intentioned decisions teams make every day: adding “quick fixes,” introducing abstraction too early, optimizing without evidence, creating hidden coupling, and copy-pasting best practices without context. Each step will feel reasonable in the moment. That’s the point. The audience will watch the codebase gradually become harder to change, slower to understand, and easier to break — even though everything still compiles and looks “clean” from the outside. Then we’ll rewind: for each destructive step, I’ll show the smallest alternative that keeps momentum without creating long-term damage. This session is funny, slightly uncomfortable, and very practical — because the real lesson isn’t “don’t make mistakes.” It’s learning to recognize the exact moment when a team crosses the line from productive speed to future pain. You’ll leave with a mental checklist to spot codebase decay early, choose healthier defaults, and build software that stays easy to evolve under real deadlines.