Good software, old friend
Good software… what does that even mean?
It’s a term people use without thinking much. UX, polished UI, low bugs… or all of it at once. Broad phrases like that stop meaning anything.
Good software is readable. Not just for machines, but for humans who will have to work with it later. Short, intentional pieces of code make it clear what’s happening.
It’s reusable within the project. Global where it makes sense, specific where it needs to be. Dependencies stay low, internal and external. DRY applies to code, files, and components.
Implementation isn’t just following a design; it’s about making decisions that survive change.
That’s where pillars come in. They define what cannot break. Core functionality like user and permission management, payment processing, or main data structures are functional pillars: they must stay stable. Design pillars, like the layout system, spacing, or color tokens in the design system, also must remain consistent.
Within both, you can experiment. New UI components, feature variations, or design variables can change, fail, or be replaced—without breaking the system.