I do work on embedded systems and it works there too. Much better in any kind of project though is if you can get a management team that actually sees the valu

I do work on embedded systems and it works there too. Much better in any kind of project though is if you can get a management team that actually sees the value in it. I still consider it pretty much mandatory to build core system improvement into feature estimates but by being more explicit and interactive about it you can get good feedback to refine your own estimates of what parts are even worth improving. It may be that the product line that uses the subsystem you want to improve is about to go a new direction, for example, and the better thing to do is to start preparing for that subsystem to go away.