[1penny42cents]

OP is giving a problem solving framework, it's not tied to specific solutions or tradeoffs. It's more of a method for thinking through a solution.

In more detail, the steps go like this.

Find as many solutions to a given problem as you can. Bad engineers run with the first solution that comes to mind, letting confirmation bias drive them.

Evaluate each solution for its costs and benefits. Imagine two steps in the future when the solution is implemented. What pains are there?

Search for creative new solutions that create win-win scenarios. That's riding the solution curve.

Given all viable scenarios, compare the costs and benefits against the quality measures for your specific context. Some projects value speed over precision. Some projects value performance over extensibility. Some solutions are easier to change later than others. This is choosing a specific point on the solution curve that best fits your context.

You can apply that method of problem solving to any problem, large or small. You don't need a ton of experience to practice it.

[aisofteng]

This comment made me realize what my mentor did years ago. He would have the entire team list all possible solutions to a problem, including the obviously bad ones, then have us whittle down the list based on pros and cons of each until we reached consensus on what to do. It was a teaching exercise and I didn’t realize it.

I’ve repeated it that exercise with junior engineers to great effect. Some catch on over time and start intuitively considering the trade offs of a few reasonable solutions to a problem; some don’t.

I never reflected on what he was doing there; thanks.

[jaggederest]

To add to that, some of the smartest "good" ideas come from "bad" ideas that people rejected out of hand, sometimes from unusual sources. It pays to do brainstorming thoroughly.

The best software engineers know when to solve a problem without using any code at all, like the classic "just do it manually" for a complicated task that is worth more than $x per task.