4 Easy Ways to Design Better Software

I'm standing on the other side of what I think is some type of huge wall. A great wall that stretches for I don't know how far and is higher than I can see over or even climb. It is an obstacle through which I cannot pass.

We are drawn in by the simplest of things. You for instance, probably started reading this post because of its title "4 Easy Ways to Design Better Software". Your probably curious as to what simple and easy things you can do to design better systems, and this seems like a great place to find that information quickly. A quick simple solution is what you really want. Having to think about it, particularly thinking hard about it, will not do.

And so, software developers, programmers and other techies are drawn to the many fads that make up our daily fare of literary pulp for technical articles. 12 ways to do that; 5 ways for this; the best 20 of these. Most are seeking the easy answers, not understanding.

The things you didn't stop to read had big ugly titles, or maybe delved too deeply into the underlying makeup of the issues. Perhaps you bookmarked them into an optimistic 'readme' category or something similar, but still their ultimate fate, we can predict, is to languish in the dark corners of nowhere.

Ironic, because buried deep in all of that uninteresting stuff there lies at least four easy ways to design software, if not many more. If only you looked there, you might be able to find the real understanding that you are craving. Then again, there is always YouTube; have you seen the latest lolcats video?

I'm a horribly uncomfortable writer that feels compelled to continue churning out unreadable and uninteresting opinions because it turns out that after many years of searching, understanding and contemplating software, those answers that I was seeking were really close to home and I need to share. But, sadly what I am saying is bound to keep me on the other side of that looming wall of obscurity. The side that nobody really wants to visit because it is not easy or fun, and it requires too much thinking, which is clearly a drag.

I figure if I keep chucking things over the wall, someday, someone is going to come around and understand it. At some point, they may even forgive me for my pitiful attempts at self-promotion. It can be hard if you think there is value in what you are saying, to see it get ignored by the masses. Lost forever in a chorus of 95 million voices.

Ironically, in the end it is all really simple: the 4 easy ways to design better software are to stop looking for 4 easy ways to design better software. Well, almost. I still owe you three, but at least now -- maybe -- you'll be able to find them yourself if you want to.