Refactoring over the five years is the opportunity a good developer gives you. When I say the architecture “seizes up” I mean it gets to the point where 1) a

Refactoring over the five years is the opportunity a good developer gives you. When I say the architecture “seizes up” I mean it gets to the point where 1) a refactor that would shave 100 points off your annual planned work costs more than 100 points and 2) hacks are slowing your pace to the point that a realistic estimate for your annual planned work is growing faster than your team is working it down. Note that in such a situation you will still be “getting things done” but your costs are rising while your output is decreasing. Eventually that grinds to a halt and your team will demand a costly and often fatal 2.0 cycle. A good developer can refactor as they work, and say no to unworkable plans, such that your cost per point grows only linearly, so you can maintain stable feature output while growing your staff linearly.