Technical debt often feels like a hidden anchor in software development, silently complicating maintenance, slowing progress, and stifling innovation. At the Operaton Project, we’ve decided it’s time to address this challenge directly. By focusing on cleaning up and modernizing our foundation, we’re setting the stage for a sustainable, maintainable, and future-ready platform.
Our Current Key Areas of Focus
Revamping Our Testing Framework
We’re transitioning to JUnit 5, not just to modernize, but to establish a future-proof, extensible, and maintainable test base.
• With 25,000 test cases, maintaining and extending tests can feel overwhelming, especially with outdated frameworks.
• The migration is an opportunity to revise and refine our existing test base, ensuring it aligns with modern development standards and encourages contributors to add more tests in the future.
Reducing Technical Debt
Our Sonar analysis revealed over 16,000 code issues, a clear indicator of technical debt. While individually these issues aren’t critical, their cumulative effect creates a significant burden.
• We’ve already addressed one-third of these findings and aim to cut the total to 8,000 issues within the next two months.
• By actively cleaning up and setting higher standards, we’re laying the foundation for a codebase that’s easier to maintain and evolve.
Eliminating Legacy Dependencies
Outdated Java EE components have served their purpose, but it’s time to move on.
• Removing these dependencies improves security, reduces complexity, and clears the way for innovation.
• Upgrading to modern frameworks allows us to leverage ongoing improvements in performance, quality, and security, avoiding the challenges of maintaining both legacy and modern implementations simultaneously.
Why It Matters
This isn’t just about cleanup—it’s a strategic renovation. Addressing technical debt now ensures the Operaton Project can continue to grow, adapt, and support modern use cases. Whether it’s improving maintainability, enhancing security, or enabling innovation, every step we take is about creating a platform that’s sustainable, secure, and ready for the future.
This effort is also aligned with making transitions smoother for teams moving from Camunda 7. to the latest tools and standards, ensuring minimal friction and maximum value.
We’d love to hear your thoughts!
• What do you think about our approach to technical debt?
• What are your biggest challenges in balancing innovation with maintaining legacy systems?
Let’s discuss and shape the future of the Operaton Project together!