Add Simplicity

SIMPLICITY needs to be constantly "added" to software solutions.

It's very easy to create unnecessary complex solutions for variety of reasons. We engineers like to create smart and unique solutions, but can't always see where it is justified to do so. It can easily become an "ego thing" where too much of personality of author creeps into solutions. No one else then fully understands the solution, which becomes increasingly problematic with time.

Today I'm painting my garage. It is 30 degrees Celsius out there and all I want to do is to give the garage a new coat of paint. The builder has decided to add nice mouldings horizontally and vertically - every few feet. These mouldings while nice, increase my effort exponentially, as I have to paint them individually. 30 degrees heat is equivalent to a need to turn a project around quickly - under heat. Luckily I don't have to paint the garage that often, but I'd be in serious trouble had it been my software product.

Another reason for complexity can be just the development landscape. Especially enterprise software can be a mine field of complexity. Variety of implementation technologies, techniques and patterns is augmented by infrastructure as colorful as United Colors of Benetton.

So just to display enterprise grade "Hello World" - what do we need to consider? Front End? Check. Load balancers? Check. Web tier? Check. App Server? Check. Database? Check. ORM? Check. Caching? Check. MQ? Check. EMB? Check. WS-*? Check. A few obscure protocols of choice? Check. Complex transactions? Check. N-Stack for redundancy? Check. One mainframe for "Hello" and another for "World"? Check.

OK, there is more but I'll stop here. The point is that the landscape is complicated as it is. We should not add any more complexity (or "smarts"), we need to strive for the opposite. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.

It is the same outside of enterprise software. The competition is tough, you need to be constantly adding value and looking for new opportunities. You need to be nimble an light on your feet. Ability to adapt and change is more important than validity of that "Great Idea" you once had.

The formula to success in software business is to Add Simplicity on every step of the way. If you think your killer idea will make your solution successful - dream on. Actually, WAKE UP, you are delusional and it is hurting you. Your idea has already been thought of by someone, somewhere. The difference is in execution.

"Add Lightness" - Colin Chapman

Software Art

Software engineering is part science, part art. The science part is all about making computers understand our instructions. Science are the algorithms, languages, execution environments and semantics. The science portion of software is fairly cut and dry and mastering that will give an ability to execute a given task. It is not a difference maker, though.

The "difference maker" is the Art in software. Software Art is all about how do we translate general idea into specific instructions that computers can understand, while losing as little of the original intent as possible.

Software Art is encompassing both What are we solving and How are we doing it, in exact measures of each. Like a good cake recipe. Software Art is the sweet science (doh!) of the Big Picture. It has it own way to affect the final results. The most important property of Software Art is SIMPLICITY.

To be continued ...