From Debugging Legacy Systems to Building Scalable Microservices: 3 Lessons I Learned

I started my career maintaining legacy .NET systems, understanding dense code, improving stability, and fixing bugs buried 5 layers deep. Fast forward to today, I’ve led the development of scalable, secure microservices using ASP.NET Core, Azure, and modern DevOps pipelines. Here are 3 lessons that stuck with me through that journey: 1) Write Code for the Next Developer Legacy systems taught me this the hard way. Clear naming, fewer side effects, and meaningful comments are not “nice-to”-have”—they’re essential. 2) Think in Services, Not Screens Moving to microservices changed how I see architecture. Each service should do one thing well, be independently deployable, and fail gracefully. 3) Security is Not a Last Step Whether it’s preventing unauthorized access in assessments or blocking screen capture, designing secure systems from Day 1 makes everything more reliable.

May 12, 2025 - 12:35

From Debugging Legacy Systems to Building Scalable Microservices: 3 Lessons I Learned

I started my career maintaining legacy .NET systems, understanding dense code, improving stability, and fixing bugs buried 5 layers deep.

Fast forward to today, I’ve led the development of scalable, secure microservices using ASP.NET Core, Azure, and modern DevOps pipelines.

Here are 3 lessons that stuck with me through that journey:

1) Write Code for the Next Developer
Legacy systems taught me this the hard way. Clear naming, fewer side effects, and meaningful comments are not “nice-to”-have”—they’re essential.

2) Think in Services, Not Screens
Moving to microservices changed how I see architecture. Each service should do one thing well, be independently deployable, and fail gracefully.

3) Security is Not a Last Step
Whether it’s preventing unauthorized access in assessments or blocking screen capture, designing secure systems from Day 1 makes everything more reliable.