The Solution Paradox
Most solutions create new problems. Be thoughtful before adding complexity.
- Every fix carries tradeoffs: new failure modes, new dependencies, and new things to operate.
- Choose the simplest thing that solves the problem, but no simpler. Then revisit only when constraints change.
- Treat complexity as a cost you must keep paying: testing, docs, on-call, upgrades, and hiring.
Example: Moving to Kubernetes can improve reliability and scaling, but it also adds operational overhead (clusters, controllers, RBAC, networking), a larger failure surface area, and new classes of bugs like misconfigured resources and noisy neighbor issues.