When We Need Systems, Processes, and Conventions

Published on December 11, 2024, filed under Development and Management (RSS feed for all categories).

When do we need systems, processes, and conventions? ^*

When we work with someone else.

Yet even if we’re working alone, we often benefit from structure and consistency. ^†

A brief comment, as this is something that’s usually taught late (and wants to be taught earlier). Not to you—you’re aware. But to peers who struggle getting behind systems, processes, or conventions.

What’s underpinning systems, processes, and conventions is the desire and need for collaboration. It’s okay to be skeptical about the specifics of systems, processes, and conventions, because it helps improve them—but it makes our work unnecessarily difficult when we don’t channel skepticism about systems, processes, and conventions in general.

^* Documentation systems, issue management systems, planning processes, review processes, code conventions, design conventions, all of it.

^† E.g., check my old CSS-Tricks article, How to Write Better Code: The 3 Levels of Code Consistency, for thoughts on individual consistency.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a frontend engineering leader and tech author/publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead for companies like Google and as an engineering manager for companies like Miro, I’m a contributor to several web standards, and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development (and engineering management), but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (Please be critical, interpret charitably, and give feedback.)