I don't really get this article. Dennehy writes: However, while Dyer was making a point based on insufficient reliability and robustness in the available tools

I don't really get this article. Dennehy writes: However, while Dyer was making a point based on insufficient reliability and robustness in the available tools, Spolsky is making the same assertion purely on the basis that it takes more time to produce a good design than to use a simpler tool and “duct tape” a solution. This is not an accurate reflection of Spolsky's article. In particular there is this paragraph: One principle duct tape programmers understand well is that any kind of coding technique that’s even slightly complicated is going to doom your project. Duct tape programmers tend to avoid C++, templates, multiple inheritance, multithreading, COM, CORBA, and a host of other technologies that are all totally reasonable, when you think long and hard about them, but are, honestly, just a little bit too hard for the human brain. Added: Spolsky is not claiming that these techniques take too much time. He is claiming that it is very hard to use these techniques to make a product that is reliable and robust. My reading of Spolsky is that he is making the claim that is it a good idea to have programmers on your team who are very focussed on shipping product, and don't really care whether the technology being used is particularly advanced or popular. They just want to do whatever it takes to ship. I think he's right; it's good to have these people around. Programmers love learning about new technologies and programming techniques, and when we learn about them we want to apply them. Our enthusiasm can push us to use technology that isn't really required for the problem at hand, and when that technology is difficult to use correctly, this can cause big problems. Having someone around keep you focussed on what matters - shipping a working product - is very helpful.