A new developer may repeatedly recommend practices from a former workplace to prove their value, establish credibility, or confirm a senior status. The impulse can be well intentioned, but changing direction before understanding the existing system can damage design coherence, morale, and perceived standing. section 6.2.2
The incoming architect
A new architect joins while the team is still implementing an existing architecture. Believing microservices should be larger, they begin merging services and redirecting the design. Midway through the redesign, this change of direction makes the architecture messier and can lower the architect’s implicit rank rather than proving their seniority. section 6.2.2
Notice the pattern when a newcomer:
- Frequently compares the team’s practices with those of a former company. section 6.2.2
- Pushes a preferred definition of good architecture before the current direction has been understood. section 6.2.2
- Changes direction in ways that create inconsistency and weaken team morale. section 6.2.2
