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Weekly Reflection #7 - Simple Systems
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Each week, I share one insight. One piece of wisdom. One question to reflect on. (and a little Lagniappe) InsightProtect the simplicity of your foundational systems. I’ve been reading Designing Data-Intensive Applications for Book Overflow. I can’t believe I hadn’t read this book sooner. It’s a goldmine of practical wisdom with a deep exploration of tradeoffs. One insight that stood out is that the larger and more reliable a complex system needs to be, the simpler its building blocks must be. You can’t scale complexity on top of a complicated foundation. The systems that endure are built from small, well-reasoned primitives that compose predictably. Wisdom“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system.”
— John Gall, Gall’s Law
ReflectionWhat are you doing to protect the simplicity of your foundational systems? Lagniappe
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Weekly Reflections Newsletter
Practical insights on platform engineering, developer experience, and building teams that ship. Each issue is written to be useful, actionable, and applicable. No filler, no promotions-only emails. Enter your email and sign up for free right now.
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