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> … they just make simple code which I can understand with a glance. That locks the team into “as smart as me, but no smarter” and doesn’t really scale beyond
by jt2190 3y ago
> … they just make simple code which I can understand with a glance.
That locks the team into “as smart as me, but no smarter” and doesn’t really scale beyond very small teams and very rote work. One person rarely has all the ability plus all of the “on the ground” context that’s necessary to do great work across a larger system.
It’s more important IMHO to require devs to communicate what they’re doing at a design level, to help them set clear goals and define (and enforce) boundaries. Far too often I’ve seen seniors go nuts “fixing” a system that in some theoretical sense was broken but for all practical purposes worked just fine, while neglecting things that were truly issues for the organization. Note that this is primarily a management issue, mainly a lack of oversight and control.
- thebigwinning 3y agoAgreed. It's much harder to be a manager of people smarter than you doing stuff you don't understand, but also absolutely necessary.
- whstl 3y ago> That locks the team into “as smart as me, but no smarter” No it doesn't. People aren't really "smarter" just because they write incomprehensible code. The "smarter" way is being able to get things done without making a mess for yourself, the other people working with you, and after you. Over-engineering is not a positive quality. And "not easy to understand" doesn't mean "impossible". Maybe for Juniors! In fact, it's the people writing the difficult code that are forcing teams to be "as smart or smarter than me". It's time to stop rationalizing architecture astronautics. There is nothing "smarter", it's just annoying and expensive. - > One person rarely has all the ability plus all of the “on the ground” context that’s necessary to do great work across a larger system. And this is exactly why we need code to be comprehensible to everyone.
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- jt2190 3y ago> People aren't really "smarter" just because they write incomprehensible code. Go reread what I wrote: I never made that assertion.
- whstl 3y agoThen we might have a misunderstanding. If so, I'm gonna need more context for the phrase “as smart as me, but no smarter”. In the original comment I never claimed there were different "smartness" levels across the ranks, and stated that Juniors can write code that is understandable. It's not about experience or smartness, it's simply about the importance of not overcomplicating the codebase to the best of your ability, no matter if you're a Junior or Senior. To me, that's being "smarter", and it's definitely possible to have this kind of "smarter" in any team.
- musicale 3y ago> … they just make simple code which I can understand with a glance. >> That locks the team into “as smart as me, but no smarter” and doesn’t really scale beyond very small teams and very rote work. Complexity is the enemy. Code that is easy to understand - for others, and for yourself in six months - pays huge dividends.