One question I sometimes forget to ask myself, when I’m coming up with solutions to problems is this: “Is it simple enough?” Even though I try and make a habit of asking myself that often I, sometimes, don’t ask often enough.   The lesson of the importance of simplicity in both software development and systems management is one of those lessons that you really only ever “learn” after you’re war scarred and battle weary. One day it clicks, and you realize “hey… this should be easier.”
The interesting thing about the problems that we (as a community of tech minded developer types, and systems people) is that the majority of our solutions can be done easily. Sure there’s always something… at the deep dark core of a really difficult problem… that will always be that arcane black magic voodoo bit of code. But by and large everything else can (and should) be simple.
I wonder what stories you, my 2.5 readers, may have to share on the subject. When was it that you became totally fed up with writing complex solutions? Or have you some other opinion on the matter?
I became totally fed up with complex solutions after literally spending 60%-80% of my time working on fixing the work arounds for the work arounds that were needed for the overly complex "solution". The solution was so complex, it ended up not working for anyone and by the time the developers flew the coop – no one could even follow what was going on in the original code (hence the work arounds) 😉
Simple. Documented. Standards – that is my motto now.