Friday, January 17, 2025

Stop Defending the Design - The Implementation is What Matters

 Stop Defending the Design - The Implementation is What Matters

 

 In Software Engineering there is often a design phase or design / refinement steps and cycles. When the code is finished and released the thing that matters is the implementation.

The thing that matters is the implementation.

Users of the software product do not see the design. They see the software product.

I notice a parallel with ideologies and societal philosophies.

The thing that matters is the implementation.

For example, Marxism may be defended by stating the tenants of the ideology, which may be considered as the design. Implementations of the ideology is how things are critiqued or judged.

Telling the customer of a software product, "If the software developers had followed the design, your personal information would not have been compromised" does little to appease the customer.

Capitalism is judged by the actions of persons working within capitalistic environments.

Communism is judged in the same way.

So are political parties, religions, social movements, etc.

If you are discussing some matter and your approach is to tout the design while the others are criticizing the implementation you may find yourself at an impasse. The implementations is what matters and the results of the implementation are what must be defended or criticized.