I follow the Bob Lefsetz blog. He writes well. He writes about music and yesterday he wrote this about Elton John:
You won’t see the likes of him again. We never did get a new Beatles. These iconic acts are sui generis. They don’t write by committee, and they’re not afraid of failing, because only when you hang it way out there, push the limits, do you have a chance of creating lasting art that embeds itself in the culture, in the universe.
How do you want to embed yourself in the culture and clarify your thinking?
You can choose to write. You can choose to speak. You can choose to read. Ultimately that knowledge should find a way out.
All software engineering is a conversation. Find a way to add your unique perspective in the context of your organisation’s policies on how to design and architect the code.
Below I’ve listed some templates and some ways that various companies help get their thoughts out into the world.
How Hashicorp do their writing with Problem Requirements Documents and Request for Comment (RFCs)?
How Squarespace do their engineering using RFCs and Design Documents (DD). There is a template in there.
And also some examples of Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) on github.
Finally, if you’re presenting your findings, using the inverted pyramid to get key points across clearly and succinctly.
You may not be Elton John or Bernie Taupin, yet. But you can still leave your impression on your codebase and in your organisation’s legacy by clear thinking, clear writing and clear communication.
Try it. Try it again. Keep improving.