Complexity is not just in code...

Last Update: 22.05.2018. By Jens in Developers Life | Learning | Newsletter

For a dev the complexity of tech counts. For some, it is the most important. Yet, it is meaningless without business context; mostly aside free fun coding.

This business context is not always simple. It can get quite complex.

I was at a founders meetup yesterday evening here in Frankfurt. It’s a great opportunity to connect with people outside the code world. It is also great for getting a different angle to look at own one problems. Anyways, there were two things I’d like to share with you. Both are about complexity.

The first is about a guy who does risk analysis for companies building or importing large machines, think printing press and robots. In the EU the machine does need to have a CE certification. For this, they need that risk analysis and a handbook of how they mitigate the risks. Risk in these cases are that machine operator do not get hurt, like loosing a finger or three or even die. You even need to have such CE certification if you are importing it into the EU. One basically becomes the creator and such the legal liability. Now come the complex part. He guy must understand how the machine operates, how it is build and also handle the complexity of all regulations that apply. Sure, he now has a checklis. Nonetheless, he needs to be able to understand that complexity.

The other example is about a discussion between some crypto inverstors and another venture capitalist guy. They were basically trying to tie gold with crypto tokens and also lend cpu power to the poor customers so they get some kind of dividens and money gets more over time. Anyways, the exact business does not matter. What matters is the fact, that their busniness got so complex, that those two guys, more sales guys, did not even get it anymore. Their company structure is complext and spand over mutliple countries, involving multiple regulations, especialy finance regulations and more. The funny thing is, the venture capitalist guy did get it and asked detailed questions about money flows and such topics. This made me smile. He was able to gasp the complexity involved and was even able to point out problems right at the moment. Over a beer, at night.

Which leads me to the questions. Can you handle complex topics? Could you follow along even you might be unfamiliar with certain terms?

I think one of the best assets a modern human can have is a good skill of handling complexity.