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0 pointsxrd7y ago0 comments

I get it, that's indeed the fun part.

But, do you believe the statistic that 90% of the cost of software is the maintenance?

If so, then the only way you can be a mythical 10x engineer is if you are willing to do things that really reduce the team costs. Everything else about 10x engineers is just mythology.

I think this is an example / practice of one of those things you can do for your team. Communicating clearly up front, being willing to discuss and alter poor thinking (everyone does it) is what turns individual contributors into powerful team members. If you just start with coding, you are missing all that part of it.

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2 comments · 2 top-level

DogLover_7y ago

Documenting/communicating what you do is important but when it becomes a process it can really be detrimental. Every new feature won’t take the same amount of time and having to spent time writing down my approach for a task that will only take a few days will likely just limit me. That time could be spent on writing (more) tests which is also a form of documentation. If we say that 9/10 times a solution is good, the time saved not writing down the approach could accumulate to 1 rewrite. Basically for me it boils down to some of the agile values and principless:

- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

- Working software over comprehensive documentation

- Working software is the primary measure of progress.

- The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.

https://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html

Udik7y ago

> do you believe the statistic that 90% of the cost of software is the maintenance?

Hmmm. Apart from the very suspicious number (90%) I wonder what exactly it's meant by "maintenance". Because it could be bug fixing, adding or changing features, refactoring, server or db administration, etc. And what period of time is included in the "maintenance" phase: one year, ten, a century?

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