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The Automation Loop

Simple is harder than complete

Published 5 months ago • 1 min read

The Loop

Every week, close one loop.
Fix one friction. Take back a bit of time.

I've been thinking about the fixes that last.

The ones a team keeps using six months later without anyone reminding them.

They have one thing in common.

They're simpler than the problem they solve.

Not simpler to explain.

Simpler to do.

And that's harder to build than it sounds.Here's why.

When you can finally see the whole problem, you want to cover all of it.

Every case. Every exception. Every "but what about when…"

So the fix grows.

By the time it ships, it's thorough.

It's also very heavy and bloated.

And here's the part that gets me.

These fixes don't last.

People drift back to the old way, because the old way was lighter and easier.

The fix loses to the workaround it was built to replace.

The teams whose systems actually hold do the opposite.

They build for the main path. The ninety percent. The thing that happens every day.

And they let the rare stuff stay loud.

Because we all know - loud problems gets caught.

A quiet one rots inside something that looks fine.

Simple isn't the lazy version of complete.

Simple is the version that survives.

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