[lostmyoldone]

Premature optimization rarely helps, but well though out flexibility/decoupling in core system components has had a significant positive effect on velocity down the line, and lack of the latter has all been shown to be disastrous.

I do believe though that's really hard to discuss effectively as there seems to be no good, and common definition on what over engineering actually is, except in retrospect.

I've seen teams where they were so "good" at avoiding over engineering and "architecture astronauts" that thousand line functions with a Byzantine labyrinth of conditional was preferred to even the most basic of design.

With that said, what would you consider over engineering of the kind that never works, and in what kind of systems?