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cmertayak
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part-time human.
- cmertayakPlease let us know what happens.
- I desperately needed that :D
- It nails the value of keeping things simple, and I think the link to cognitive load deserves even more emphasis. In most of the cases, simplifying means reducing the cognitive load. Sometimes consolidating pieces with DRY, sometimes using design patterns, sometimes decomposing things into services...
Every extra details or workaround increases the number of things you need to keep in your head, not just when building the system, but every time you come back to maintain or extend it. "Simple systems have fewer 'moving pieces': fewer things you have to think about when you're working with them."
Simplicity isn't just about getting the job done quickly; it's about making sure future you (or someone else) can actually understand and safely change the system later. Reducing cognitive load with simplicity pays off long after the job is done.
- Good reminder: "Project management tool is not the answer, clear priority is the one".
It reminds me of what is said to be Peter Thiel's style of management at Paypal: One person, one problem.
He is said to make one person the clear owner and decision-maker for each significant problem. This person is given the authority and resources to solve it, and is held accountable for the outcome.
People naturally gravitate toward easier, B+ problems they know how to solve, rather than the hard, high-impact A+ problems. Thiel's rule forces focus on the most important, difficult issues, even if it feels uncomfortable or limiting at first. Over time, teams saw that this intense focus led to breakthrough solutions, like PayPal's fraud detection system, which was only possible because one person was given total ownership of the problem.