Wellington .NET User Group

Legacy systems are like ancient temples: full of mystery, danger, and long-forgotten knowledge. One wrong move and the whole thing might collapse. But somewhere deep inside lie years of embedded business logic, customer trust, and operational quirks that no rewrite can replace.

In this talk, we'll don the fedora and take up the whip as we explore techniques for exploring legacy codebases without triggering the traps. We'll dig into Source control archaeology, safe refactoring strategies, introducing tests in a hostile environment, and recognizing "cursed" files with high churn or hidden dependencies.
Whether you're maintaining a dusty monolith or inheriting a mystery repo, this session will equip you with tools and tactics to escape with the real treasure: Knowledge of how to extract business value and gradually modernize.

Join us for a special edition of the Wellington .NET User Group as part of the global GitHub Copilot Dev Days 2026!

Taking place between March 15 and May 15, this worldwide initiative brings together developers, tech enthusiasts, and local communities to explore the real-world power of GitHub Copilot.

This is not your typical meetup. Designed to be highly practical and interactive, this 1-hour session will focus on hands-on workshops and real development workflows. You’ll get the chance to experience how AI-assisted coding can improve productivity, streamline everyday tasks, and reshape the way we build software.

Whether you’re already using Copilot or just curious about AI in development, this event is open to developers of all backgrounds and experience levels.

Come along, bring your laptop, and connect with the local developer community face-to-face.

Note: This event is an in-person event. Please take your laptop as this is a hands-on workshop.