Comments by "yapdog" (@yapdog) on "I Bet You’re Overengineering Your Software" video.

  1. All of this, Dave! Once again you're telling my story. For so many years that I'm afraid to count, I've been the sole developer on an OS for Creators. I did have a clear objective: a platform that allowed me to easily build UIs and features as easily as creating drawings; this was to be a proprietary tool solely for my content. However, it took me far too long to realize that I, as an artist AND developer, was a very poor target. I'd over-engineered the platform so much that it was far too easy to lose sight of my objectives. I realized that I needed external targets, so I tapped long-time users of a CG application that I'd developed in the late 1990's - early 2000's. That was the ticket! Even though the feedback that I'd gotten contained nothing really new, it gave me clarity. I redefined the product objectives, swept out a lot of over-engineered subsystems, then approached the design from the view of myself purely as creator. Yes, not just a user or "end user," but a person creating art. This changed the entire paradigm of the OS. Simplified it. And made it the most flexible piece of software that I'd ever seen! Seems like a simple thing, that realization, but only in hindsight. It was a long and arduous journey, but it looks like I'll be able to release in Q4 of this year. So, to whomever read all of this, pay close attention to this video in particular. Whether you're an individual or part of a team, it will save you a world of hurt. Hell, I wish I could have seen it a decade ago....... 😔
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  2. It stands to reason that there certainly should be a lot of broken software out there. After all, there's a hell of a lot more of it today than, say, in the early 2000's. A lot more people are coding who probably shouldn't be. A lot more reliance on frameworks and libraries; while that should be a good thing, too many have no idea what using so many external components does to their software. Add to this jumping around to the latest language or whatever like it's the fashion isn't helping matters: too many don't really specialize, but generalize. I swear, I wouldn't want to be starting out today.
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