I Think Developers Are Building Too Much Software
There was a time when the difficult part of building software was writing the software. Today, that is increasingly not true. We have better frameworks, better libraries, better APIs, better cloud infrastructure, better developer tools, and now AI can generate a significant amount of the code for us. Yet I keep seeing the same pattern: We are getting better at building things, but not necessarily…
Developers are building an increasing amount of software, but the real issue lies in deciding what should actually be built. Despite advancements in frameworks, libraries, APIs, cloud infrastructure, and AI-assisted coding, the real problem is not the ease of building software, but the lack of thoughtful decision-making when it comes to what gets developed.
Modern software development can become complex and expensive quickly, often creating more problems than it solves. This is particularly true with the rise of AI-generated code, which can make implementation seem effortless, leading developers to build more without considering the long-term consequences. The cost of complexity often becomes apparent only much later, when maintenance becomes a significant challenge.
Developers are generally aware of obvious technical debt like poor naming or missing tests, but they often overlook the more subtle, necessary architectural debt. This debt can manifest as unnecessary architecture, such as an overabundance of services, abstractions, tools, or AI agents that aren't required for the core functionality.
The obsession with more and more complex systems can lead to a paradox where sophistication doesn't necessarily equate to quality. Sometimes, the best engineering decision is to simplify by removing something, rather than adding more. This requires judgment, as removing components can be harder than adding them. Good systems can look simple and straightforward, even when they're well-engineered.
This simplicity arises from thoughtful engineering rather than just the absence of complexity. When it comes to AI agents, there's a growing trend to use them for any problem that could potentially benefit from dynamic decision-making. However, this might introduce unnecessary uncertainty and complexity if a deterministic workflow can solve the problem more straightforwardly.
The key question should be whether an autonomous decision-making system is truly necessary, rather than assuming that an AI agent is the best solution. Ultimately, developers need to ask not just "How do I build this?" or "How do I build this well?", but "Should this exist at all?" This new question applies not just to software development, but to many aspects of engineering and technology.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
