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>know how to minimize complexity I don't think this gets nearly enough praise when assessing people. I've worked at a few different software companies with a r

>know how to minimize complexity I don't think this gets nearly enough praise when assessing people. I've worked at a few different software companies with a raft of different programmers and among those who were deemed "superstars" there were certainly a few who I wouldn't want to work with (or inherit code from) given the choice due to the hideously complex nature of their output. Despite their ability to produce major functionality with incredible speed, which is often what led to them being seen as superstars by management, code that is so complex that it is virtually unmaintainable is a huge ongoing burden. Its great that you rescued a late project when everyone said it could not be done but some poor sucker is going to have to maintain that mess.

GauntletWizard 12y ago
I'm currently working for a company where "Move Fast" means "Write lots of code". As a result, there's a lot of sloppiness, duplication, and pieces that don't quite fit together right. I'm having difficulty explaining the importance of reductionism; In the words of Antoine de Saint Exupéry: "It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove."
- Terr_ 12y ago
  IMO replacing "Move Fast" with "Iterate Frequently" helps. The speed you want is rotational, not translational :)
zamalek 12y ago
Interestingly I think that the propensity to create complex systems is a sign of inexperience (but aptitude nonetheless). I used to create the most hideously "enterprise" architectures in my projects that even I have problems grokking after years of not touching them. I've reached the stage of moderately complex and out of sheer love of the concept, actively work toward simpler solutions. Ultimately a "10x hire" who overcomplicates things can probably be toned down through some mentoring. I guess the "work smart, not hard" truism can be reworded to "solve smart, not complex" in this case. > some poor sucker is going to have to maintain that mess. Although complex is not the same thing as a mess, it merely might as well be.

GauntletWizard 12y ago

I'm currently working for a company where "Move Fast" means "Write lots of code". As a result, there's a lot of sloppiness, duplication, and pieces that don't quite fit together right. I'm having difficulty explaining the importance of reductionism; In the words of Antoine de Saint Exupéry: "It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove."

Terr_ 12y ago
IMO replacing "Move Fast" with "Iterate Frequently" helps. The speed you want is rotational, not translational :)

zamalek 12y ago

Interestingly I think that the propensity to create complex systems is a sign of inexperience (but aptitude nonetheless). I used to create the most hideously "enterprise" architectures in my projects that even I have problems grokking after years of not touching them. I've reached the stage of moderately complex and out of sheer love of the concept, actively work toward simpler solutions. Ultimately a "10x hire" who overcomplicates things can probably be toned down through some mentoring. I guess the "work smart, not hard" truism can be reworded to "solve smart, not complex" in this case. > some poor sucker is going to have to maintain that mess. Although complex is not the same thing as a mess, it merely might as well be.