I always look at adages like these as something to keep in mind for the future. We can choose the simplest thing now and make it easy to swap it out for the more correct and more time-consuming thing later.
Sometimes the difficulty in distinguishing what the simplest thing could be comes from being in a group setting where people have equal say in the matter.
I think everyone has personal anecdotes to support the idea of doing the simplest thing suitable for that moment. But how to convince the group? I'm not sure, I don't always succeed.
A situation where I did do just the simplest thing is when I was asked to use project management software and a build server for a very early stage project with only myself as a developer. I declined.
Instead I made a script to compile and package everything and emailed that to the others. We used an instant messenger for communication. It worked great for the early stage when the focus is on the MVP, though the project didn't go anywhere due to business reasons.
It will always still be possible to use the project management software and build server later. But it wasn't necessary at the very start.
Sometimes the difficulty in distinguishing what the simplest thing could be comes from being in a group setting where people have equal say in the matter.
I think everyone has personal anecdotes to support the idea of doing the simplest thing suitable for that moment. But how to convince the group? I'm not sure, I don't always succeed.
A situation where I did do just the simplest thing is when I was asked to use project management software and a build server for a very early stage project with only myself as a developer. I declined. Instead I made a script to compile and package everything and emailed that to the others. We used an instant messenger for communication. It worked great for the early stage when the focus is on the MVP, though the project didn't go anywhere due to business reasons.
It will always still be possible to use the project management software and build server later. But it wasn't necessary at the very start.