diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'docs/values-comparison.org')
| -rw-r--r-- | docs/values-comparison.org | 107 |
1 files changed, 107 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/docs/values-comparison.org b/docs/values-comparison.org new file mode 100644 index 00000000..128c6710 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/values-comparison.org @@ -0,0 +1,107 @@ +#+TITLE: Values Comparison - Simple vs Reliability +#+DATE: 2025-10-30 + +* What Currently Supports Each Value + +| Theme/Practice | Simple | Reliability | +|---------------------------------------+--------+-------------| +| *Code Quality* | | | +| Clear naming | ✓ | | +| Small functions | ✓ | | +| Good comments (why not what) | ✓ | | +| Abstractions when warranted | ✓ | | +|---------------------------------------+--------+-------------| +| *Architecture* | | | +| Modular design | ✓ | | +| Extract custom code into packages | ✓ | | +| Good architecture enables evolution | ✓ | | +| Technical debt has real cost | ✓ | | +|---------------------------------------+--------+-------------| +| *Production Practices* | | | +| Testing | ✓ | ✓ | +| Documentation | ✓ | | +| Version control | ✓ | | +|---------------------------------------+--------+-------------| +| *Failure Planning* | | | +| Rollback capability (localrepo) | ✓ | ✓ | +| Error handling | ✓ | ✓ | +| Graceful degradation | ✓ | ✓ | +|---------------------------------------+--------+-------------| +| *Trust & Stability* | | | +| Never use tools you can't trust | ✓ | ✓ | +| Uptime matters | | ✓ | +| Config breakage crushes productivity | | ✓ | +| More packages = more breakage risk | | ✓ | +| Need confidence to refactor | | ✓ | +|---------------------------------------+--------+-------------| + +* Key Quotes Supporting Each + +** Simple +- "Config IS production software - treat it as such" +- "Clear naming, small functions, good comments" +- "Apply production practices: Testing, modularity, documentation" +- "Simple means maintainable production software, not minimal or primitive" + +** Reliability/Resilience +- "Never use a tool you can't fully trust" +- "The impact when it's broken can crush my productivity" +- "More packages = more potential breakage. Need ability to roll back" +- "Plan for failure: Rollback capability, error handling, graceful degradation" +- "Quality matters because uptime matters" + +* Analysis + +** If Reliability is part of Simple: +*Simple means:* Maintainable, trustworthy, production-quality code that fails gracefully + +*Pros:* +- Keeps to 3 values +- Failure planning is a consequence of good engineering (already in Simple) +- Less redundancy + +*Cons:* +- "Simple" might not clearly convey the "must not break" urgency +- Rollback/resilience themes could get lost + +** If Reliability is its own value: +*Simple means:* Clear, maintainable code +*Reliability means:* Never breaks, fails gracefully, always recoverable + +*Pros:* +- Explicit focus on uptime/stability +- Clear that this is mission-critical (crushes productivity when broken) +- Resilience practices (localrepo, testing, error handling) have clear home + +*Cons:* +- 4 values instead of 3 +- Some overlap with Simple + +* Decision Framework + +Ask yourself: + +1. When choosing between two approaches, would "reliability" change your decision differently than "simple"? + + Example: Complex caching solution that's faster but harder to debug + - Simple says: "Too complex, harder to maintain" + - Reliability says: "If it breaks less often and has rollback, worth the complexity" + +2. Does "config can't break" deserve equal weight with Fast and Intuitive? + +3. Is the "trust" theme strong enough to be its own value? + +* Recommendation + +If you had to choose, I'd suggest: **Keep Simple, absorb Reliability into it.** + +Why? Most of your reliability practices (testing, rollback, error handling) are already listed under "production software practices" in Simple. The "never use tools you can't trust" is already there too. + +**But** - you could rename Simple to "**Reliable**" or "**Solid**" if the stability theme is more important than the simplicity theme. + +Alternative value names that might capture both: +- *Solid* - Stable, maintainable, trustworthy +- *Resilient* - Fails gracefully, recovers easily, maintainable +- *Dependable* - Simple enough to trust, robust enough to rely on + +What resonates? |
