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quality-no-followup-prs.md

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title Minimize Follow-up PRs for Small Refactors
impact HIGH
impactDescription Prevents technical debt accumulation
tags quality, pr, refactoring, technical-debt

Minimize Follow-up PRs for Small Refactors

Impact: HIGH

Follow-up PRs for minor improvements rarely materialize. Instead, they accumulate as technical debt that burdens us months or years later. If a small refactor can be done now, do it now.

Incorrect:

// PR comment: "I'll fix this naming in a follow-up PR"
const d = getUserData(); // Bad variable name
const r = processData(d); // Another bad name

// The follow-up PR never happens, and now we have unclear code

Correct:

// Fix it in the same PR
const userData = getUserData();
const processedResult = processData(userData);

When follow-ups are acceptable:

  • Substantial changes that genuinely warrant separate PRs
  • Exceptional, urgent cases where the current PR must ship immediately
  • Changes that require additional review from different stakeholders

The principle: The "slowness" of doing things right is an investment, not a cost. Code that's architected correctly from the start doesn't need massive refactors later.

Reference: Cal.com Engineering Blog