The startup scene (time and money pressure) may help in that, but IMHO one can only write quality software if the problem is understood enough (or it was alread

The startup scene (time and money pressure) may help in that, but IMHO one can only write quality software if the problem is understood enough (or it was already solved before). However, usually, startups keep pivoting now and then trying to make a [new] product guided by customer actual needs (which may be different from what they had started with). I assume good design comes from a holistic view of the problem and experience. if you are solving the problem one bite at a time then this becomes harder (how everything fits together elegantly?). YMMV