undefined | Better HN

0 pointssixstringtheory7y ago0 comments

> You break it, you fix it.

I’ve seen this invoked so many times to shirk responsibility though. Someone piles up all kinds of crap in a tight little closet, complete with a bowling ball on top, and the next unsuspecting dev who comes by and opens it gets an avalanche of crap falling on them while the original author can be heard somewhere in the background saying “it’s not my problem.”

This winds up leading to more crap-stacking just to get the work done ASAP and you wind up with a mountain of tech debt.

I like the zero flaw principle where new feature work stops until all currently known flaws are fixed. Then everyone is forced to pitch in and responsibility is shared whether you want it or not.

0 comments

jacques_chester7y ago

> I’ve seen this invoked so many times to shirk responsibility though. Someone piles up all kinds of crap in a tight little closet, complete with a bowling ball on top, and the next unsuspecting dev who comes by and opens it gets an avalanche of crap falling on them while the original author can be heard somewhere in the background saying “it’s not my problem.”

I'm accustomed to collective ownership where, ideally, this never happens and in practice happens rarely (followed by the little closet being torn out and replaced).

> I like the zero flaw principle where new feature work stops until all currently known flaws are fixed.

I agree: stop the line. But I think it's orthogonal to the sins or virtues of n-repology.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse