Yes, let's replace these computers and smartphones with pen, paper and dumbphones.
Simple Systems Have Less Downtime (2020)
21–30 of 220 posts
Re: Simple Systems Have Less Downtime (2020)
#22I'm an architect and I keep things simple too. The problem I have is people around me expect more complex/intricate solutions. They think simple is not sophisticated and savvy. They think the competition is ahead of our 'old, simple solutions'. I have to continually justify and explain that KISS is always the right approach.
I smiled when I heard a hedge fund was using a "data engineering" solution that many today would consider outdated - I guess I'd invest with them.
Re: Simple Systems Have Less Downtime (2020)
#23People don't go out of their way to build complex systems. What happens is that it starts simple and becomes complex as more features are added often with limitations attached e.g. time, money etc. So yes this guy migrated from Marketo to Hubspot and it was simple. But the idea it will simply remain that way is laughable.
While what you’re saying is, of course, fair, the other side is also true: people often choose to complex a technology “because it’s future-proof!”, while they need just a simple system. There are tons of examples: CQRS over simple databases, Hadoop while a single server suffices, or even people choosing JIRA over a simple trello board. As such, the obvious answer is “it depends”, and making the right trade-off is ra…
> CQRS over simple databases, Hadoop while a single server suffices, or even people choosing JIRA over a simple trello board
I've heard this from many engineers over the years.
But what I've often found is that they were never involved in the decision making process and so aren't aware of all of the business requirements. Once they are made aware usually they agree with the choice.
Common example being the business requirement to have high availability.
Re: Simple Systems Have Less Downtime (2020)
#24“Simplicity is a great virtue but it requires hard work to achieve it and education to appreciate it. And to make matters worse: complexity sells better.”
– Edsger W. Dijkstra
Re: Simple Systems Have Less Downtime (2020)
#25When people face a new problem they intuitively try to find something they can add as a solution, not thinking about what they can remove to prevent the problem from occurring in the first place. This becomes apparent in the way marketing works. You sell products by promising they will solve a problem. You don't sell things by telling people what they really need to hear, that they just need less of everything. Simplicity is unfortunately not a product you can sell.
Re: Simple Systems Have Less Downtime (2020)
#26I'm an architect and I keep things simple too. The problem I have is people around me expect more complex/intricate solutions. They think simple is not sophisticated and savvy. They think the competition is ahead of our 'old, simple solutions'. I have to continually justify and explain that KISS is always the right approach.
Well, it's a trade-off, isn't it? Complexity can result from features which pay for themselves. Complexity is not automatically always wrong. At scale, complexity solves problems that you might not otherwise realize exist. Some of these problems are intrinsically complex, they can't be solved with a simpler solution. Not without "simple" organically growing into a much worse mess than the dominant complex solution th…
Complexity results in better productivity until it suddenly doesn't.
Re: Simple Systems Have Less Downtime (2020)
#27When people face a new problem they intuitively try to find something they can add as a solution, not thinking about what they can remove to prevent the problem from occurring in the first place. This becomes apparent in the way marketing works. You sell products by promising they will solve a problem. You don't sell things by telling people what they really need to hear, that they just need less of everything. Simpl…
Corporate America rewards higher budgets and adding new anything, in all practicality Corporate America rewards complexity.
There's no glory in simplicity.
Re: Simple Systems Have Less Downtime (2020)
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes! In the future, a whole car factory will have only one employee. His job: feed the dog. The dog’s: keep humans away from the machines. Just as a ship with dozens of people got replaced by 13: the complexity was encapsulated in simpler interfaces. Diesel motors: just change this lever. Up is fast, down is slow. But it took a century to refine this absurdly complex device until this simple interface became possible…
So what happens to your simple encapsulated system when the diesel motor breaks down, or one of your hydraulic lines breaks? Does your simple encapsulated system them also say "we have no downtime, because we have a simple system"?
I'm pretty sure that is the exact point the parent post is trying to make!
Re: Simple Systems Have Less Downtime (2020)
#29When people face a new problem they intuitively try to find something they can add as a solution, not thinking about what they can remove to prevent the problem from occurring in the first place. This becomes apparent in the way marketing works. You sell products by promising they will solve a problem. You don't sell things by telling people what they really need to hear, that they just need less of everything. Simpl…
Part of the problem is counterparties. Usually, large parts of "the system" are owned by someone not-you. This differentiates who can do the work (or more typically, halt the work) in each case.
Add something - you
Remove something - you + other owners + all other users
Which explains why system migrations only succeed when championed by a VP+.
Re: Simple Systems Have Less Downtime (2020)
#30I'm an architect and I keep things simple too. The problem I have is people around me expect more complex/intricate solutions. They think simple is not sophisticated and savvy. They think the competition is ahead of our 'old, simple solutions'. I have to continually justify and explain that KISS is always the right approach.
Well, it's a trade-off, isn't it? Complexity can result from features which pay for themselves. Complexity is not automatically always wrong. At scale, complexity solves problems that you might not otherwise realize exist. Some of these problems are intrinsically complex, they can't be solved with a simpler solution. Not without "simple" organically growing into a much worse mess than the dominant complex solution th…
Right, but because the ‘default’ inclination is towards ever increasing complexity, I still believe the mental exercise of attempting to simplify is almost always worthwhile.
Meaning to say, I find KISS almost universally applicable, there are not many situations where you wouldn’t want to try and simplify (if you can).