[TEST] 2.0: Two Decades of Increasing Software System Complexity Has Limited Developer Productivity Gains.

If software was only as simple as this Python snippet:

print("Hello, World.")

Today, it is possible to build an equivalent 1999 system in a fraction of the effort required in 1999.

Yet, despite many advancements, software teams are arguably less productive in “real-effort” terms than they were in 1999.

Increased complexity that comes from software process and architecture is a productivity drag that reduces the growth of “real-effort”.

2.0.1: Complexity Arises From Scaling, Toolchains, Technology, Collaboration, and Architecture.

Scaling is hard. The number of projects, managers, teams, devices, head count, tools, and requirements generally keep increasing leading to unintended layers of complexity.

Let’s explore the nature of complexity in software systems.