> use the right tool for the right job, and try to keep things as simple as possible
Now all we need to do is get the field to agree on universally applicable definitions of "right tool" and "simple", and never change any requirement after any technical decisions have been made, and we'll be all set!
I had a manager who used the term "ice cream" for phrases like this that sound good (everybody loves it!) but don't help drive any useful conversations or decisions. Should we use the right tool for the job, or the wrong one? Let's use the right one! OK, are we all agreed? Great! It's unanimous. Next issue.
Unfortunately, the 5 people sitting around the table each have a completely different conception of what this means, so we're no closer to a decision than when we started. It's simply not a useful guide or metric. I think it's mostly code for "be quiet and do as I say".
Depends on how needlessly argumentative your team is. Generally you can reach a consensus through discussion, example and experimentation. We do have intuition, generally we know what simple looks like when we see it, likewise we recognise what the right tool looks like as we try several.
Do you want a checklist for this kind of thing? You’re not going to get one. You have to use your own judgement.
Possibly you’ve fallen victim to being on teams where ego dominates, and members refuse to seek the best option unless they came up with it themselves.
Now all we need to do is get the field to agree on universally applicable definitions of "right tool" and "simple", and never change any requirement after any technical decisions have been made, and we'll be all set!
I had a manager who used the term "ice cream" for phrases like this that sound good (everybody loves it!) but don't help drive any useful conversations or decisions. Should we use the right tool for the job, or the wrong one? Let's use the right one! OK, are we all agreed? Great! It's unanimous. Next issue.
Unfortunately, the 5 people sitting around the table each have a completely different conception of what this means, so we're no closer to a decision than when we started. It's simply not a useful guide or metric. I think it's mostly code for "be quiet and do as I say".