“Why can’t we just reuse …”
"Why can't we just reuse that?" It's a fair question, and we rarely answer it properly. The trouble is that "reuse" is one word doing the work of six very different things: copy the pattern, fork the repo, share a library, plug into a running service, and so on. Each carries a different cost, a different owner, and a different bill landing eighteen months later. Nodding along without agreeing which one you mean is how a sensible instinct quietly turns into an unfunded liability. So before you say yes, ask the three questions that actually matter: who owns it, who pays for it, and who's on the hook when it breaks at 2am. If a proposal can't answer all three, it isn't a reuse strategy. It's a hope.
Perfection Isn’t a Glacier; it’s a Patchwork Quilt
Over the years, I have developed a view of perfection in software that has shaped how I lead and how I work with engineers and architects. It challenges the mindset our industry inherited; and replaces it with something more human, realistic and valuable. I call it the Quilt vs Glacier view of perfection.