Ask HN: Maintainers vs. Creators – The Unsung Heroes?

One dimension along which you can think about tasks to be done on systems is maintenance vs. design. I find that both types of tasks have their own challenges and require specific skills. So much so that in a team they are often covered by maintenance focused vs. design/development focused roles. Where it does indeed happen that way, I feel that there is a tendency to recognize the activities of creators/designers, who come up with the next new important feature, more than that of maintainers, whose understanding and perseverance is often critical to ensure uninterrupted service.

In the big corp environment where I am working, it has always been a tremendous challenge to draw attention to the value added by maintenance type of roles. (It is very basic human nature that we are not grateful for potable water, but feel shocked when access to it is cut off, whereas we do appreciate often superficial nice-to-have things, that we could live perfectly without.)

Have you tackled a similar problem before with success? If so, I would be especially keen to hear your stories.