Rewrite debates: questions we ask before the whiteboard

Rewrite energy often arrives after a painful release. The feeling is understandable. The change-risk briefing exists to slow the conversation just enough to separate “this module hurts” from “the entire shell must go.”

Questions that usually help

1. Which operator tasks are blocked today, and which are merely unattractive?
2. What is the smallest extract that would unlock the next feature?
3. Where are the tests that would catch a regression if you move state out of a global object?
4. Which integrations (license servers, hardware dongles, printers) assume the current process model?
5. Who on the team has shipped a migration of this size before — and what slipped last time?

What we refuse to do

We will not crown a framework winner after a week of reading. Framework choice is yours. Our job is to show blast radius, sequencing, and the cost of staying versus leaving for the specific desktop client in front of us.

If a rewrite still looks right after those answers, the briefing says so — with a staged plan, not a pep talk.