Design rules
by Carliss Y. Baldwin, Kim B. Clark · first published 1999
57% recommend43% neutral
We live in a dynamic economic and commerical world, surrounded by objects of remarkable complexity and power. In many industries, changes in products and technologies have brought with them new kinds of firms and forms of organization. We are discovering news ways of structuring work, of bringing buyers and sellers together, and of creating and using market information. Although our fast-moving economy often seems to be outside of our influence or control, human beings create the things that create the market forces. Devices, software programs, production processes, contracts, firms, and marke
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…1998 in Vancouver. I asked Grady Booch "What is software architecture?" He answered "Software architecture is what software architects 'do'." At that point I stopped caring. Until I found the book Design Rules: The Power of Modularity. http://www.amazon.com/Design-Rules-Vol-Power-Modularity/dp/0... It is the sole source I've ever encountered that had anything useful, actionable, insightful, informative, rigorous,…
on “Being a Software Architect” ↗…success of Python. Though my first love was LISP, I'm now far more comfortable leaning on static typing and composition. --- The best book on software design I've ever read was written by two economists. Design Rules: The Power of Modularity http://www.amazon.com/Design-Rules-Vol-Power-Modularity/dp/0... This book didn't change how I program so much as changed how I think. Like the difference between making and…
on “Interfaces – The Most Important Software Engineering Concept” ↗Please forgive the hi-jack... FWIW, the book Design Rules: The Power of Modularity systematically explores the tradeoffs. https://www.amazon.com/Design-Rules-Vol-Power-Modularity/dp/... Written by two economists, it's the only prescriptive definition of architecture…
on “The Framework Laptop is now shipping” ↗…Repeat. Given the challenges of organizational psychology (aka herding kittens), where trying harder won't change outcomes, I support the strategy of multiple competing teams, as detailed in the book Design Rules: The Power of Modularity. http://www.amazon.com/Design-Rules-Vol-Power-Modularity/dp/0...
on “Steve Ballmer fired Sinofsky, clearing the way for faster progress in mobile” ↗Very interesting idea. You might like the book Design Rules: The Power of Modularity. https://www.amazon.com/Design-Rules-Vol-Power-Modularity/dp/... I'm going to ponder how to design the game artifacts.
on “18XX Train Games” ↗Basket of NPV style hedges are The Correct Answer™. Meaning, try a bunch of stuff, with some reasonable resources and constraints, see what works. I like the explanation and rationale given in Design Rules https://www.amazon.com/Design-Rules-Vol-Power-Modularity/dp/..., though there's plenty of others. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_present_value
on “Intel outsources Core i3 to TSMC's 5nm process” ↗Design Rules, Vol. 1: The Power of Modularity [2000] https://www.amazon.com/Design-Rules-Vol-Power-Modularity/dp/... Formal definitions for interfaces and so forth. Completely changed my mental model for my work.…
on “Good Software Architectures are mostly about Boundaries” ↗I swear I got this recommendation here, but I can't remember who to credit and can't find the post. Anywho, this is arguably the overarching reason Design Rules: The Power of Modularity[1] was written, at least in the abstract way you are asking it. The book tells you about the process that led to the creation of IBM's System/360, and it shows how a set of patterns…
on “Ask HN: Best resources on abstracting and dealing with complexity” ↗Unrelated to this comment, thread or OP in any way, you mentioned to me the concept of Complexity Catastrophe ~4 months ago from the book Design Rules by Baldwin and Clark. I’ve finally gotten around to reading it and I feel compelled to thank you. I haven’t yet finished, but it’s an absolutely fascinating read that is providing me with a lot of food…
on “88% of Americans use a second screen while watching TV” ↗…practical. This region of thought forms the basis of e.g. the Toyota Production System And an absolutely excellent but more academic deep dive into precisely this topic of modularity is Carliss Baldwin’s “Design Rules.” It’s sort of a super-theory of Conway’s Law, but in a book-length argument.
on “Productivity Versus Alignment” ↗I strongly recommend picking up Carliss Baldwin’s Design Rules. It is a great addition to the thinking done in Notes on the Synthesis of Form, in a more empirical and specific technological context (the advent of the computer).
on “We must seek a widely-applicable science of systems” ↗…requisite diversity, which will you give you an approximate mental quantity of how "powerful" any given system is. https://www.amazon.com/Sciences-Artificial-Herbert-Simon/dp/... and https://www.amazon.com/Design-Rules-Vol-Power-Modularity/dp/... I haven't read either of these, but Herb Simon is extremely influential and has great thoughts on the notion of system hierarchies (nearly-decomposable systems is a great concept…
on “Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?” ↗This idea: "Obviously the spread of computing power was a precondition for the rise of startups." seems closely related to the concept behind the book "Design Rules" (2000, isbn 978-0262024662). Here's a summary from the book flap: "[The computing industry] has experienced previously unimaginable levels of innovation and growth because it embraced the concept of…
on “The Refragmentation” ↗Nice cite, fun to think about, thanks. Will compare with NPV options based strategy proposed in Design Rules. Design Rules, Vol. 1: The Power of Modularity http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262024667
on “How standard portfolio theory changes when assets are technologies” ↗"...wish it had a name..." IIRC, I think first read the phrase "complexity catastrophe" in the book Design Rules: The Power of Modularity. Per the authors, it's when a system becomes so complex (interdependent) that the cost of any further changes far outweigh the expected benefit. https://www.amazon.com/Design-Rules-Vol-Power-Modularity/dp/...
on ““I would like to maintain the floppy driver”” ↗