3 ms·

Hire people who use boring technology and build systems that do things simply and directly. This is great engineering though. Isn't the trick to find engineers

Hire people who use boring technology and build systems that do things simply and directly. This is great engineering though. Isn't the trick to find engineers who don't build nests for themselves and create strategic technology problems for your company, especially if your core business ins't tech.

cyberdrunk 6y ago
I disagree. Great engineering is when you propose and implement (or lead a team implementing) a complex, novel and valuable piece of engineering. Linus is a great engineer, key people working on database systems are great engineers etc. What you're describing is "just" competent engineering.
- gonzo41 6y ago
  Most engineering problems aren't up the engineers to invent or propose. What you're describing sound more like product design. A lot of companies face a problem such as "We need a bridge an we have X money for it". The engineering is in meeting spec with those constraints. The great engineering is doing that and not baking in a hidden cost of support, maintenance etc.
  - cyberdrunk 6y ago
    In civil engineering world, great engineering would be proposing a novel design of a bridge (for example, a first large bridge built out of steel) and delivering it. Of course, most situations don't require novel designs, you just need competent implementation of something that is an industry standard. In software world, you can also satisfy 99.9% of cases with existing approaches. You mostly don't need great engineers for that.
    - zbentley 6y ago
      > In software world, you can also satisfy 99.9% of cases with existing approaches. You mostly don't need great engineers for that. Unlike other engineering disciplines, software has a constant pressure for pseudo novelty and fad adoption. One dimension of "greatness" is resistance to those temptations and pragmatism in the face of constant change. In that regard, lower quality engineering talent often correlates with increased tech churn and defects, even given a simple business domain. Tl;Dr engineering excellence doesn't only imply innovativeness, it also implies discipline.
einpoklum 6y ago
In other words: Systems that do things simply and directly are great, and often exciting, technology.

cyberdrunk 6y ago

I disagree. Great engineering is when you propose and implement (or lead a team implementing) a complex, novel and valuable piece of engineering. Linus is a great engineer, key people working on database systems are great engineers etc. What you're describing is "just" competent engineering.

gonzo41 6y ago
Most engineering problems aren't up the engineers to invent or propose. What you're describing sound more like product design. A lot of companies face a problem such as "We need a bridge an we have X money for it". The engineering is in meeting spec with those constraints. The great engineering is doing that and not baking in a hidden cost of support, maintenance etc.
- cyberdrunk 6y ago
  In civil engineering world, great engineering would be proposing a novel design of a bridge (for example, a first large bridge built out of steel) and delivering it. Of course, most situations don't require novel designs, you just need competent implementation of something that is an industry standard. In software world, you can also satisfy 99.9% of cases with existing approaches. You mostly don't need great engineers for that.
  - zbentley 6y ago
    > In software world, you can also satisfy 99.9% of cases with existing approaches. You mostly don't need great engineers for that. Unlike other engineering disciplines, software has a constant pressure for pseudo novelty and fad adoption. One dimension of "greatness" is resistance to those temptations and pragmatism in the face of constant change. In that regard, lower quality engineering talent often correlates with increased tech churn and defects, even given a simple business domain. Tl;Dr engineering excellence doesn't only imply innovativeness, it also implies discipline.

einpoklum 6y ago

In other words: Systems that do things simply and directly are great, and often exciting, technology.