Best Simple System for Now • Daniel Terhorst-North • GOTO 2025

This presentation was recorded at GOTO Copenhagen 2025. #GOTOcon #GOTOcph https://gotocph.com Daniel Terhorst-North - Originator of Behavior Driven Development (BDD) & Principal at Dan North & Associates @daniel-terhorst-north RESOURCES https://bsky.app/profile/tastapod.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/tastapod https://github.com/tastapod https://mastodon.social/@tastapod http://dannorth.net/blog https://goalwards.co Links https://xkcd.com/974 https://adventofcode.com ABSTRACT Software teams often face a false choice: move fast and accumulate technical debt, or build the perfect system and miss the deadline. But there may be a third path, the Best Simple System for Now (BSSN). This session introduces a pragmatic yet principled approach to software design: systems that are as simple as possible but no simpler. You’ll learn how to design code that is robust, change-friendly, and fit for purpose, while avoiding both gold-plating and corner-cutting. Through practical examples, we explore how to manage complexity, embrace uncertainty, and make sound decisions using concepts like Cost of Delay and RAROC. [...] TIMECODES 00:00 Intro 03:44 Agenda 05:05 Defining the best simple system for now 26:17 Do not try this at home 34:41 Why no one else is doing this 40:09 And then what? 43:00 Outro Download slides and read the full abstract here: https://gotocph.com/2025/sessions/3737 RECOMMENDED BOOKS Donald G. Reinertsen • The Principles of Product Development Flow • https://amzn.to/3hJ2Ye2 Eliyahu M. Goldratt • Beyond the Goal • https://amzn.to/3wDbAL1 Kent Beck, Fowler, John, William, Don & Gamma • Refactoring • https://amzn.to/3SFBYbN Kent Beck & Cynthia Andres • Extreme Programming Explained • https://amzn.to/3KeL5P5 Jez Humble & Dave Farley • Continuous Delivery • https://amzn.to/3ocIHwd Robert B Cialdini • Influence, New and Expanded • https://amzn.to/3tL8GxB Aino Vonge Corry • Retrospective Antipatterns • https://amzn.to/3naFk84 Subramaniam & Hunt • Practices of an Agile Developer • https://amzn.to/2XjbWor https://bsky.app/profile/gotocon.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/goto- https://www.instagram.com/goto_con https://www.facebook.com/GOTOConferences #Programming #SoftwareEngineering #Polyglot #Patterns #AntiPaterns #BuildTheRightProduct #GoodProgrammers #Change #CUPID #VESPA #Team #TechTeam #TodayInTech #DanNorth #DanielTerhorstNorth #GOTO CHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUS Join this channel to get early access to videos & other perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/join Looking for a unique learning experience? Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket at https://gotopia.tech Sign up for updates and specials at https://gotopia.tech/newsletter SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL - new videos posted almost daily. https://www.youtube.com/user/GotoConferences/?sub_confirmation=1