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> 10. When making decisions about the solution all things equal, go for this priority: Security > Reliability > Usability (Accessibility & UX) > Maintainability

> 10. When making decisions about the solution all things equal, go for this priority: Security > Reliability > Usability (Accessibility & UX) > Maintainability > Simplicity (Developer experience/DX) > Brevity (code length) > Finance > Performance In my experience simplicity is the cornerstone priority that nearly all other attributes stem from. Simpler solutions tend to be easier to rationalize/debug, leading to systems that are more maintainable, more reliable, and generally more secure (see OpenBSD). This is of course not an absolute rule but I've found success by always being cautious when introducing complexity and investing extra time to explore/discover simpler approaches. The author shows they have this insight in points 2, 11, 13, 17, and especially 19, but didn't really represent this in their list of priorities. Simplicity is more than DX.

yetihehe 5y ago
That ordering just states that you should not sacrifice security for simplicity. As long as two solutions are equally secure, the simpler one is better, but not when simpler one is less secure. > Simpler solutions tend to be easier to rationalize/debug, leading to systems that are more maintainable, more reliable, and generally more secure (see OpenBSD). Yeah, IF they are more secure, THEN use simpler solutions.
adverbly 5y ago
Totally! Simplicity is core to the rest of the others in the list. The other weird one is finance near the bottom. Typical engineering bubble style thinking... make sure your solution actually provides value and that people will pay for it! Otherwise you're wasting your time solving the wrong problem! The importance of that cant be understated!(unless your goal isn't to provide value of course)
stonemetal12 5y ago
I guess it depends on what "decisions" we are talking about. I took it to mean design decisions, in which case Security and Simplicity are generally orthogonal. Plain text passwords are a lot simpler and less secure than salted, hashed passwords. Using bcrypt to hash your passwords is a lot simpler and more secure than some home-grown, self-implemented hashing algorithm. Also as it says he is talking about priorities, if something is simpler and less secure then choose security. If something is simpler and more secure then hey double win.

yetihehe 5y ago

That ordering just states that you should not sacrifice security for simplicity. As long as two solutions are equally secure, the simpler one is better, but not when simpler one is less secure. > Simpler solutions tend to be easier to rationalize/debug, leading to systems that are more maintainable, more reliable, and generally more secure (see OpenBSD). Yeah, IF they are more secure, THEN use simpler solutions.

adverbly 5y ago

Totally! Simplicity is core to the rest of the others in the list. The other weird one is finance near the bottom. Typical engineering bubble style thinking... make sure your solution actually provides value and that people will pay for it! Otherwise you're wasting your time solving the wrong problem! The importance of that cant be understated!(unless your goal isn't to provide value of course)

stonemetal12 5y ago

I guess it depends on what "decisions" we are talking about. I took it to mean design decisions, in which case Security and Simplicity are generally orthogonal. Plain text passwords are a lot simpler and less secure than salted, hashed passwords. Using bcrypt to hash your passwords is a lot simpler and more secure than some home-grown, self-implemented hashing algorithm. Also as it says he is talking about priorities, if something is simpler and less secure then choose security. If something is simpler and more secure then hey double win.