[rekahrv]

"Do those things matter once the code is actually written though?"

That's a great question. I guess it depends on how much the code will change in the future. These things CAN get relevant again when you consider changing that code. E.g. if it turns out later that the library I've chosen isn't maintained anymore. Or we would need some more functionality, but this library doesn't provide it. In these situations, it's useful to see which other alternatives we've considered.

That said: I can't really estimate how often this turns out to be relevant, indeed. I guess the answer might be very different for different projects.