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Dieter Rams' design principles applied to software engineering

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Re: Dieter Rams' design principles applied to software engineering

#5

Love that! > 8. Good software is thorough down to the last detail That's my approach. It tends to earn me a bit of scorn, but I do it anyway.

Question. Are those people scorning you because you are thorough down to details, or because you are thorough down to details _at the cost of something else_?

Re: Dieter Rams' design principles applied to software engineering

#6

Love that! > 8. Good software is thorough down to the last detail That's my approach. It tends to earn me a bit of scorn, but I do it anyway.

Well, the coin has two sides. People that have the same mindset, appreciate when someone strives for perfection and creates somethimg really good. But i learning to be fine with 97% was very valuable too i think. It can get problematic when stuff needs to be delivered fast though. Finding the right niche is key i guess.

Most people seem to be content with good enough and that is fine too. Diversity makes it fun somehow, there would be way less to discover and learn if we were all alike.

Maybe striving for greatness instead of perfection might be a way?

P.S.: Bookmarked your stuff last time you commented about testing harnesses and stuff. Haven't done iOS work in years and may never need it. I treasure a work ethic like yours, keep it up.

Re: Dieter Rams' design principles applied to software engineering

#7
Seems to be mixing up software with code.

    > 3. Good software is aesthetic
    >
    >    Take a moment to step back and look at your code. 
    >    It should look beautiful to you. 
    >    ...
It's not that the code quality doesn't matter, but this is just apples to oranges.

Re: Dieter Rams' design principles applied to software engineering

#8
post #3

Funny! I wrote the same article 6 years ago: https://www.dein.fr/2015-10-01-10-principles-for-good-code.h...

> Companies that stay successful are the ones which don’t fear to constantly disrupt themselves through technological innovation.

Spot on, intel immediately comes to mind. Will playing it safe always lead to mediocrity though? Depends i guess, heard that a good poker player loses less often.

(edit) Enjoyed reading the rest of the article too. In the environmental impact section i missed the idea of using more efficient languages though.

Loved your article "Learnings from six months as a first-time engineering manager" too. I was instantly reminded of the documentary on Michael Schuhmacher on Netflix i watched yesterday. I couldn't care less about Formula 1, but still think that it is an amazing movie and great role model for good leadership. He was asked over radio after he won the championship: "How do you feel?" There are several seconds of silence. He answers: "Ross you are the best. You guys are all great. We did it." I thought: "Wow, he puts the others before himself. A great example of a good King after the theory of archetypes by C.G. Jung"

Re: Dieter Rams' design principles applied to software engineering

#9

Love that! > 8. Good software is thorough down to the last detail That's my approach. It tends to earn me a bit of scorn, but I do it anyway.

"Perfect is the enemy of good", or something akin to that, is also good to keep in mind.

Re: Dieter Rams' design principles applied to software engineering

#10
post #8
post #3

Funny! I wrote the same article 6 years ago: https://www.dein.fr/2015-10-01-10-principles-for-good-code.h...

> Companies that stay successful are the ones which don’t fear to constantly disrupt themselves through technological innovation. Spot on, intel immediately comes to mind. Will playing it safe always lead to mediocrity though? Depends i guess, heard that a good poker player loses less often. (edit) Enjoyed reading the rest of the article too. In the environmental impact section i missed the idea of using more efficie…

Companies that are successful are the ones that meet the needs or desires people have. Some of those change a little and some a lot. Some it’s tweaks and others it’s wholesale change. It’s not about the technology, it’s about the people
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