Overengineering is the Most Pervasive Form of Technical-Debt
In the technology world we suffer from an affliction that’s completely necessary for being successful, but also leaves us vulnerable to all sorts of issues, our love of new and shiny tech.
Without this love, we’d never be able to move the ball forward. Implementing new things is painful, it takes time and energy. We use this love of the new cool thing to get ourselves moving and to stay motivated in our never-ending quest to make the world a better place. But that same love leaves us vulnerable to overengineering solutions.
This concept is well expressed by The Law of the Instrument, “the tendency of jobs to be adapted to tools, rather than adapting tools to jobs”.
I was struck by how simple and perfect the tool was, each doctor or nurse that enters the room can check the board with a glace for relevant information and quickly grab the dry-erase marker and add more as appropriate. Then when a new patient comes, in they wipe the board clean and use it again, simple and perfect!
But you know what would happen if one of us ‘technology folks’ was put in charge? Take me for example, I’m a ‘data guy’, I love data, can’t get enough of it. There’s a part of me that thinks: “Wait! All of that data is being lost every time they wipe the board clean, let’s put in some technology to collect it!!!”
