When you walk into a restaurant, do you notice if they have an efficiently laid-out kitchen with mise-en-place, good relationships with their suppliers, or a refrigerator at the proper temperature? No.
But you do notice when you food is slow to arrive, the food doesn't taste fresh, or the chicken gives you food poisoning.
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You also probably notice if they are using roof tiles as plates, but that doesn’t make them good cutting boards in the kitchen.
I notice if they have an A or B or C rating, which is a reflection of some of those. I notice if they are in business, which after 5-10 years, is a reflection of some of those. I notice if the employees seem happy or frazzled which is a reflection of some of those.
The same goes for software projects. It's not always clear to me what the code quality is beneath the products I use, but the products I use for the long-haul almost certainly either A.) have reasonably high quality code or B.) are reasonably complete, because they are well maintained and don't sink beneath the weight of technical debt, and they persist over the course of the years.
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You also probably notice if they are using roof tiles as plates, but that doesn’t make them good cutting boards in the kitchen.