Complexity is not the goal

Firm X specializes in complex implementations of blah, blah, blah…

I read this on a company’s website today, but I know they’re not unique in wanting to plant their flag in their ability to be “complex”.

This was in relation to a company’s web analytics offering. While I’m sure that by “complex”, what they were trying to say is, “super smart” and, generally, “better than other companies”, I also think that many tech companies honestly believe that by making things that are complex, they’re making things that are better than the alternatives.

I think they’re missing the mark on describing work (especially analytics or any web-related work) done well.

Complexity is not the goal; Complexity is a job poorly done

Work done well is efficient and elegant; it accomplishes its goal with the least complexity possible; it is built with intention and intelligence; it minimizes bloat and excess; it is future-facing and scalable; it is complete not when there’s nothing left to add, but when there’s nothing left to pare away.

Can work be well-done yet still be complex? Absolutely, but only if the problem(s) that the work needs to solve require it. Complexity in-and-of-itself should never be the goal.

No matter how you slice it, touting that you specialize in complexity is a terrible USP.