When Good Engineers Build Bad Systems

If the problems are predictable and the solutions are known, why do brilliant engineers keep building systems that fall apart?

In this season finale, David Dieruf and Wael Rabadi tackle the most human question in software development. It's not about incompetence – these are smart, experienced engineers who understand best practices. So what's really going wrong?

The answer will surprise you: context starvation. When talented engineers are thrown impossible deadlines, caught in territorial wars between teams, or given tasks without understanding the bigger picture, they build the best systems they can with the information they have. The problem isn't the engineers – it's the circumstances.

Through eye-opening discussions about developer fatigue, the creative constraints paradox, and why developers change jobs every 3-4 years, the hosts reveal how organizational dysfunction creates technical debt. They explore the spectrum from small companies (lots of context, too many responsibilities) to large enterprises (specialized roles, zero context).

But here's the hope: small changes in leadership approach can transform outcomes. Provide context, recognize strengths, enable cross-team communication, and create psychological safety. The hosts even explore how your entire business is actually a platform – made of domains, technologies, and supply chains all working together.

Great engineers + great context = great systems. It's that simple.