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I Stopped Chasing Features and Started Designing Systems

TROJAN on December 13, 2025

I learned to code the usual way. Small apps, quick wins, things that worked. Until they didn’t. That’s when I realized most projects don’t fail be...
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Fred Brooker

I know that - building tesseract.gscloud.cz for 7 years, 3 rewrites, finally got to v2.5.0 - mostly REFACTORING now, no major new features

and guess what - you must use your own software to make it superior

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josephj11 profile image
Joe

This whole topic reminds me of an old banker's joke: "I can't be overdrawn, I still have checks left!" The surface is meaningless without the integrity of the underlying systems.

I haven't figured out vibe coding yet, but based on the resuts I've had just asking AIs technical questions, I can't imagine AIs generating code I could trust for anything longer than a screen or two of code.

I'll be really impressed the first time I ask an AI a question and it replies, "I don't know the answer."

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rokoss21

This shift is incredibly important and often underrated. The distinction you're making is between building for novelty versus building for durability.

What interests me most is your point about AI integration. The moment you start working with LLMs or autonomous agents, system design becomes urgent. A monolithic feature-driven codebase becomes a nightmare—because AI can't understand implicit contracts. It needs:

  • Clear separation of concerns (so the system can be reasoned about modularly)
  • Proper error handling and fallback paths (AI will fail in novel ways)
  • Observability and logging (you can't debug something you can't see)
  • Testability (each piece needs to be validatable independently)

What you're describing—"I stopped moving fast and started moving intentionally"—is exactly what production systems require when you add an AI component. The system has to be stable enough to handle the agent's uncertainty.

This is why I believe the future belongs to architects, not just builders. Building fast is commoditized. Building systems that can be extended and understood by others (or machines) is the rare skill.

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boiki keaitaya

"Building fast is commoditized. Building systems that can be extended and understood by others (or machines) is the rare skill." I like this great insight..

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trojanmocx profile image
TROJAN

Speed gets you to a demo. Systems that can be extended and understood are what get you to production and keep you there. Especially once other developers or machines are involved, clarity becomes a force multiplier.

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trojanmocx profile image
TROJAN

Really appreciate this perspective. You articulated the novelty versus durability shift better than I could have.
The point about AI not understanding implicit contracts especially resonated. Humans can work around unclear boundaries, but agents need structure, clear failure paths, and visibility or things fall apart fast.
I’m glad you mentioned observability and testability too. Once AI is part of the system, “mostly works” stops being enough. You need designs that can be understood, monitored, and extended with confidence.
Builders aren’t going anywhere, but the role is evolving. The people who think in systems and long-term constraints are the ones building things that actually survive.

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ben profile image
Ben Halpern

Very well-said.

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trojanmocx profile image
TROJAN

Thank you, I appreciate that. I’m glad it resonated.

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Haroon Abbasi

This is actual really important, right now due to free or paid AI tool becoming available and they being able to generate the code. Every one just stop thinking and jump on road with fast track.

Without even thinking for moment, let ask AI system to design our own thought process are now behind the drive seat or sometime not even there if other people say lets ship feature or thing this in a week.

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trojanmocx profile image
TROJAN

With AI making code so accessible, it’s easy to confuse speed with progress. When tools can generate solutions instantly, the temptation is to skip thinking altogether and jump straight to shipping something that “works.” The problem is that without deliberate system thinking, you’re not really designing anything. You’re just assembling outputs. AI should accelerate reasoning, not replace it. If we stop owning the thought process, we lose control of the system the moment things change or break.
Shipping fast still matters, but only when it’s guided by intent rather than pressure. Otherwise, the fast track leads straight to technical debt.

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ansan profile image
ansan

This is actual really important,

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trojanmocx profile image
TROJAN

Thank you. It’s encouraging to see others recognize how important this shift really is.