[HN Gopher] Only Debate The Non-Linear
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       Only Debate The Non-Linear
        
       Author : digb
       Score  : 25 points
       Date   : 2023-02-17 22:08 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (thelog.farm)
 (TXT) w3m dump (thelog.farm)
        
       | sublinear wrote:
       | > I would rather implement a self-service e-commerce platform for
       | a company's merchandising team, rather than make it easier for
       | engineers to service a ticket to build a /products/hat/:id
       | endpoint every 6 weeks.
       | 
       | Sounds like the author is trying to justify building new stuff
       | without being responsible for any of it.
       | 
       | Whatever delusions they have about the "non-linear", the big
       | ideas are almost certainly not going to come from an engineer who
       | doesn't have a seat at the table with the people actually running
       | the business.
       | 
       | If one did they would hear all kinds of stuff that would not only
       | wreck their self-esteem, but not have any obvious technical
       | solutions. Engineers are not smarter than anyone else. Imagine
       | that.
       | 
       | It's not so much about finding the non-linear but about finding
       | what actually matters to the business you work for first. It's
       | almost never going to be more software.
        
       | flockonus wrote:
       | Love this article, hope it becomes a foundational piece in some
       | tech org cultures, that reward engineers to focus on "better than
       | linear improvements", vs. pedantic debates I've seen teams that
       | strive for improvement grow so used to for the cheap feeling of
       | improvement they provide.
       | 
       | nit: (so I don't lose the habit) that flashing gif in the middle
       | causes a more than linear nuisance while I'm trying to read the
       | article, otherwise LGTM!
        
         | readthenotes1 wrote:
         | There's some project management guru who wrote a book on
         | managing projects that helped keep people micromanaging them.
         | 
         | Years later I read that he really regretted it because he
         | realized that project shouldn't be even started unless they're
         | too important to be micromanaged...
         | 
         | It is, don't start linear return projects...
        
       | l33t233372 wrote:
       | To me it seems like the author is saying "An important decision
       | is a nonlinear one, where a nonlinear decision is one that might
       | have a big impacts."
       | 
       | So this whole post boils down to something like: "only debate
       | decisions that might have big impacts." I don't really see what's
       | interesting about that idea.
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | nextaccountic wrote:
         | > So this whole post boils down to something like: "only debate
         | decisions that might have big impacts." I don't really see
         | what's interesting about that idea.
         | 
         | And yet, many people might agree with it but still debate
         | trivial matters
        
           | nvader wrote:
           | Yes, but when you say "trivial", I think you actually mean
           | "pedantic". This is an important distinction because...
           | 
           | Click to read more (28 min read)
        
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