Train-the-Trainer sessions are a gold mine for cleanup ideas

One of my favorite sources of cleanup ideas is Train-the-Trainer sessions.

The trainers are usually experienced Users or power Users. They know the system inside out, and unlike project teams, they rarely sugarcoat anything.

If you can quietly listen to a few of these sessions, do it. You'll hear things like:

• “Ignore that button.”
• “That doesn't work.”
• “Use this workaround instead.”
• “This part is confusing.”
• “This is actually really useful.”

That's pure gold. Every “ignore this,” “don't use that,” or “here's the workaround” is pointing directly at cleanup, optimization, or refactoring opportunities.

Want to know what Users really think about your system? Listen to the people who teach it.