Quality

Overarching principles for building software that works well, stays maintainable, and genuinely helps the people who use it.

These pages stay at the level of why rather than how. They cover the mindset and priorities that shape good software, not specific coding techniques.

Software Should Help People starts with the most basic question: what is software for? It argues that simplicity begins with the product itself, before any code is written.

The Cost of Poor Quality makes the business case. Drawing on Adam Tornhill’s Code Red research, it shows how poor quality leads to slower delivery, more defects, and unpredictable timelines. It also covers the broken window effect and the Boy Scout Rule as a daily counterforce.

Simplicity is the core technical principle. KISS, YAGNI, and Dijkstra’s observation that simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. It also covers why chasing trends and buzzwords works against you.

Developer Flow connects quality to the daily experience of working in a codebase. Fast feedback, low friction, and automation are what keep teams productive as a system grows.