mysterious smells

One of our problems at this company is the need to write, re-write, and edit a huge amount of the code base really fast. Since we have demos, releases and branches coming up in a few weeks (less now that I'm going to be going back to Japan soon), there is a feeling of muted urgency.

The good news: we're pretty good at doing what is needed very quickly.

The bad news: our code is starting to smell.

What do I mean by smell? A 'code smell' is a term I just learned the other day. Basically it's a combination of less-than-optimum coding practices, usually introduced by a lack of refactoring, or using procedural programming techniques (because they're more intuitive/easier to implement) when in the long run the code would be much easier to maintain and understand using object oriented principles.

Here is a list stolen from http://wiki.java.net/bin/view/People/SmellsToRefactorings
(which in turn was summarized from the classic book "Refactoring" by Kent beck.)

Smell	Description	Refactorings
Comments	Should only be used to clarify "why" not "what". Can quickly become verbose and reduce code clarity.	Extract Method Rename Method Introduce Assertion
Long Method	The longer the method the harder it is to see what it’s doing.	Extract Method Replace Temp with Query Introduce Parameter Object Preserve Whole Object Replace Method with Method Object
Long Parameter List	Don't pass in everything the method needs; pass in enough so that the method can get to everything it needs.	Replace Parameter with Method Preserve Whole Object Introduce Parameter Object
Duplicated Code		Extract Method Pull Up Field Form Template Method Substitue Algorithm
Large Class	A class that is trying to do too much can usually be identified by looking at how many instance variables it has. When a class has too many instance variables, duplicated code cannot be far behind.	Extract Class Extract Subclass
Type Embedded in Name	Avoid redundancy in naming. Prefer schedule.add(course) to schedule.addCourse(course)	Rename Method
Uncommunicative Name	Choose names that communicate intent (pick the best name for the time, change it later if necessary).	Rename Method
Inconsistent Names	Use names consistently.	Rename Method
Dead Code	A variable, parameter, method, code fragment, class, etc is not used anywhere (perhaps other than in tests).	Delete the code.
Speculative Generality	Don't over-generalize your code in an attempt to predict future needs.	If you have abstract classes that aren't doing much use Collapse Hierarchy Remove unnecessary delegation with Inline Class Methods with unused parameters - Remove Parameter Methods named with odd abstract names should be brought down to earth with Rename Method

There are more on that site, and even more in the book. I should really buy it. But it might just sit on the shelf like my 'Design Patterns' book. Oh well, at least my coworker found use for it and has been semi-permanently borrowing it.
But I digress.