I read Paul Graham off and on and find most of what he writes about interesting even if I don’t agree with all of what he has to say. His latest essay, “Six Principles for Making New Things”, is one that seems to echo a lot of what’s been said before about solving problems with software. In his own words the steps are:

I like to find (a) simple solutions (b) to overlooked problems (c) that actually need to be solved, and (d) deliver them as informally as possible, (e) starting with a very crude version 1, then (f) iterating rapidly.

To summarize, find a simple solution to a problem and release early and release often.

There are parallels between the organization and operational philosophies of companies and what is considered “good” software design. Attributes that immediately come to mind about good software design that can be applied to a company’s operation are loose coupling, polymorphism, and reuse.

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