Guiding Phrases
Today I was reading and came across these different quotes again, all in a single place. I have heard all of them before from time to time. Some stick more powerfully than others. All of them I have war stories for situations when I didn’t keep them in mind.
- Make things complicated as required; keep them as simple as possible.
- You ain’t gonna need it.
- Don’t write the same code twice.
- Remember, you’re going to have to test it.
- How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
There is enough truth in each of these phrases alone to write a book. They are like lanterns on systems we put together, shining beacons in directions we should consider as we make so many choices.
In information technology, there is nothing but choice. Do I host my software in the cloud? Do I have servers I have to manage myself? Should I use open systems software? Is offshore development the best value? Are BI investments worth the cost of tools and development? What languages should we use for custom development? Are we going to use a Software Development Methodology; if so, which one? What tools should I provide my employees? Where should I locate my business to acquire the necessary resources? How do I want to configure my workspace for optimum performance?
Having spent decades learning how to build computer systems (a process far from complete) I find these key phrases summarize volumes of material. As I learn more about any particular topic, it often brings more richness to these phrases.
Do you have personal examples of situations where you wish you had followed one of these phrases? Share with us by dropping me a note at btaylor@sswug.org.
Cheers,
Ben
$$SWYNK$$
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