In today’s fast-evolving tech world, the pull towards new tools and technologies is strong. Sometimes, it can be hard to decide what to get involved with and which ones to leave behind.
Let’s explore this a bit further!
Inside the developer’s brain
Let’s check out some dilemmas, biases and misconceptions that influence the way we look at and choose tools.
The “New is always better” dilemma
Developers like me tend to chase the latest trends. This makes sense. Learning new tools offer fresh solutions, new perspectives and in general broaden our arsenal of technologies that we have at our disposal.
We often see new tools can have some advantages, such as being more innovative, offering better integration with other new technologies and in general giving you a competitive edge. And, yes, they also look good on LinkedIn…
On the contrary, older tools can be perceived as outdated, unmaintained, less cool and more boring. In short, something we want to get rid of.
But it this really a smart move?
Misconception and bias
Let’s look at some things that influence how we choose, perceive and interact with tools.
The tutorial dilemma
When you start with a new tool, you probably first take a look at its website. Here, typically, you will find short “getting started” tutorials to follow. These are great to get started.
However, they generally show the “happy path”, a use case that is simple, straightforward, and will most likely work on the first try. You need to be careful here, as this may hide real-world complexities that occur in a real project, giving a false sense of ease and confidence.
The proof of concept dilemma
Proofs of concept projects are essential to explore whether certain technologies should be considered for a specific problems. They help in assessing how a tool fits into your existing tech stack and problem scope.
The problem here lies in the cost and time involved are real considerations, especially because these PoC implementations are just a test that will be thrown away again. Also, problems can still occur in the future since a PoC generally does not consider all of your existing technologies, pipelines, APIs, databases, environments etc.
The sunk cost fallacy
Another pitfall is the so-called “sunk cost fallacy”. This basically says that once you have invested time, money or other resources into learning or buying a new tool, you might feel the obligation to use it.
Once invested, it can be hard to abandon a project, leading to irrational decision-making to justify prior effort.
Maslow’s Hammer
Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, famously said that
“If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
This expresses the danger of wanting to use your favourite tool for everything, even it is not the right one for the job.
The tractor factor
Using niche tools that only one team member knows can create bottlenecks and knowledge silos. If the person in the know is run over by a tractor, all that…
