After building software for enterprises for over 20 years, I’ve seen projects succeed spectacularly and others become cautionary tales. The difference rarely comes down to the technology chosen or even the initial quality of the code. It’s about the decisions made before a single line is written and the discipline maintained throughout the project’s life.
Start With the Problem, Not the Solution
It sounds obvious, but it’s remarkable how often teams jump to implementation without fully understanding what they’re solving. Before thinking about frameworks, databases, or architectures, I spend significant time understanding:
- Who will use this system?
- What problems are they facing today?
- Why haven’t existing solutions worked?
- How will success be measured?
These questions often reveal that the initial project scope needs adjustment. Maybe the requested feature isn’t addressing the root cause. Perhaps there’s a simpler solution that delivers 80% of the value with 20% of the complexity.
Design for Change
Enterprise environments are constantly evolving. The integration you build today might need to connect to a different system next year. The business rules that seem permanent will inevitably shift.
Effective enterprise software anticipates this reality:
- Loose coupling between components allows individual parts to evolve independently
- Clear boundaries make it obvious where changes should occur
- Thoughtful abstractions hide implementation details that are likely to change
This doesn’t mean over-engineering everything. It means being strategic about where flexibility matters most.
Make It Observable
When a system runs in production, you need visibility into its behavior. This isn’t just about error handling. It’s about understanding how the system performs under real conditions:
- Structured logging that captures meaningful context
- Metrics that reveal trends before they become problems
- Clear tracing through complex workflows
The cost of adding observability after the fact is always higher than building it in from the start.
Document Decisions, Not Just Code
Code comments explain what and how. What’s often missing is why. The reasoning behind architectural decisions, the constraints that shaped the design, the alternatives that were considered and rejected: this context is invaluable for future maintainers.
I maintain decision logs for significant projects, capturing:
- The problem being addressed
- Options that were considered
- The decision made and rationale
- Known trade-offs and limitations
This documentation becomes essential when revisiting decisions months or years later.
Build for the Team You Have
The most elegant architecture means nothing if the team can’t maintain it. Consider:
- What skills exist on the team today?
- What technologies does the organization already support?
- How will knowledge transfer work when team members change?
Sometimes the “right” technical choice is actually the one that aligns with organizational capabilities, even if it’s not the most technically sophisticated option. This is where technical leadership becomes valuable: helping teams level up while delivering on current goals.
Invest in Automation
Manual processes create bottlenecks and introduce human error. Every repetitive task is a candidate for automation:
- Deployment pipelines that make releases routine
- Automated testing that catches regressions early
- Scripts that set up development environments consistently
This investment pays dividends throughout the project’s lifetime.
Looking Forward
Building software that lasts requires thinking beyond the immediate deliverable. It means making conscious trade-offs, documenting the reasoning, and creating systems that can evolve with the business.
The best enterprise software isn’t just about solving today’s problems. It’s about creating a foundation that enables tomorrow’s opportunities. I’ve applied these principles across projects for Porsche, Audi, and many other organizations over the years.
Have questions about enterprise software development or facing a challenging project? Get in touch. I’d be happy to discuss your specific situation.