Strategy Letter IV: Bloatware and the 80/20 Myth

Joel Spolsky, Strategy Letter IV: Bloatware and the 80/20 Myth

I can be a bit of a puritan when it comes to software and the proliferation of ‘bloatware’ — software whose function doesn’t seem proportionate to its consumption — but Joel makes a reasonable and compelling counter, that software is not bloating significantly when viewed in the full context of its existence.

And he made this argument 22 years ago today! Whether that makes his rationale more or less compelling is for each reader to decide, but the years have done nothing to diminish the clarity with which he expressed that reasoning and I’m glad to have stumbled across it again. When I read it first, probably six or seven years ago, I was unconvinced. Reading it again today I’m less sure, so thank you Joel.