We Couldn’t Move Faster Until We Remembered Why Things Were Built
Article summary
We Couldn’t Move Faster Until We Remembered Why Things Were Built Every time someone asked why a decision was made, we had to guess. “Why is this async? ”Who decided to shard this by tenant?” What happens if we remove this layer?” The people who knew had moved on. The rationale was buried in Slack threads, email chains, and undocumented meetings. We weren’t short on systems. We were short on memory. That’s when we realized: we weren’t missing documentation. We were missing architecture continuity. What Happens When You Forget Why Things Exist You hesitate to refactor. Nobody wants to break a critical edge case. So people build around the old shape-just in case. You rebuild the same patterns. Without context, different teams reinvent the same service boundaries, the same caching logic, the same failure handling. You repeat past mistakes. Legacy scars vanish from view.
Read Full Article on MediumPractical takeaway
The main idea behind We Couldn’t Move Faster Until We Remembered Why Things Were Built is to help teams move from broad theory to clear, repeatable decision making. When teams apply this thinking, they reduce ambiguity and focus on improvements that deliver measurable momentum.
Example scenario
Imagine a team facing competing priorities. By applying the ideas in We Couldn’t Move Faster Until We Remembered Why Things Were Built, they can map dependencies, identify risks and choose the next move that produces progress without destabilizing their system.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Trying to redesign everything instead of taking small steps.
- Ignoring real constraints like incentives, ownership or legacy systems.
- Creating documents that do not lead to any change in code or decisions.
How to apply this in real work
Start by identifying where We Couldn’t Move Faster Until We Remembered Why Things Were Built already shows up in your architecture or delivery flow. Then pick one area where clarity would reduce friction. Apply the idea, measure its effect and share the learning.
Signs you are doing it correctly
- Teams make decisions faster and with fewer disagreements.
- Architectural conversations become clearer and less abstract.
- Changes land safely with fewer surprises or rework cycles.