| My first lesson around this was in manufacturing. It has stuck with me much more strongly than any sort of software industry jargon. It is an incredibly simple phrase too: "Value-add". I just stay focused on that item. "Is my proposal/refactor/shiny thing going to make a customer want to spend more money, sign additional/longer contracts, or somehow smooth out support & operations?" If I get an "ehhh im not sure" or a more honest "no", then I'd be inclined to shitcan the proposal unless a very clear argument can be put forth for why this refactor will somehow eventually result in downstream value-add. Arguments along the axis of "because its the right thing to do", "this is the technical best practice" or "it's cool to look at" are rejected by default unless additional supporting evidence can be brought forth. Proposals that bring additional vendors & operational liabilities without also bringing obvious value are to be considered malicious suggestions. This probably sounds draconian as hell to some of HN, but if you are working with truly complex software, you cannot be playing games in traffic, especially if you are already in production for many customers and under half-decade-long contracts. The time to be clever is on your side projects. Do not conflate the thing that results in your paycheck with entertainment. It might seem like there could be some happy co-existence, but I've personally never seen it work out. |