Ask HN: Would most software teams in big tech be better with fewer engineers?

3 points by Sincere ↗ HN

5 comments

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We probably would be getting less useless updates that changes UI for no reason....
Large corporations = more middle management = more work to be invented = more mess to be created
It’s the herding cats problem. Fewer, better engineers is (greatly) preferable but doesn’t play to the empire building of managers. Or the need for more managers. They might just work less hours with less fatigue and make code that is a bit more more sensible.
> They might just work less hours with less fatigue and make code that is a bit more more sensible.

I feel that is at the core of programming... to automate and then watch your creation do the work. I only see a small part of this in large enterprises. For the most part it happens at the beginning of a project, and then non-technical stakeholders who make decisions start scaling the project by adding more people. The scaling could happen by adding better engineering... make reusable apps and components, leverage type systems, leverage formal logic for business domain, etc. The problem for business there is that it would change who controls the scaling.

I'd flip the question around. Would engineers benefit from fewer big tech?