[chrisweekly]

Good points!

"Parts:whole"?

That's where "local complexity : global simplicity" tradeoffs come into play; well-defined boundaries (coherent interfaces) are key to striking the right balance.

"Now:future"?

Yeah, YAGNI (You Ain't Gonna Need It") and STTCPW (Simplest thing that could possibly work) are good rules of thumb.

Finally, as for "not my problem"?

IMHO (and IME, 21yrs in the industry), that's a dangerously myopic stance. Those who make the effort to expand their perspective beyond the scope of their immediate tasks and responsibilities are those whose skills, powers, value and influence show commensurate growth. By all means, be a good team player and do your (current) job to the best of your abilities, which includes efficiency and ergonomics and awareness of available shortcuts. But if you do this for too longbe aware of the compounding effects, not only on the larger system's technical debt, but also the limits this may be placing on your career.