https://thechris.in/tags/foundational/Essays on systems, failure modes, and building software that lasts.Hugoen-UShello@thechris.in (Chris Roy)hello@thechris.in (Chris Roy)© 2025 theChris.in. Read freely. Attribute generously. #obviouslyWed, 31 Dec 2025 12:54:52 +0530https://thechris.in/articles/on-building-software-that-deserves-to-last/Wed, 31 Dec 2025 12:54:52 +0530hello@thechris.in (Chris Roy)https://thechris.in/articles/on-building-software-that-deserves-to-last/ Correctness is a low bar.
Most systems that reach production clear it. They compile. They pass tests. They satisfy the requirements as they were understood at the time. And yet, many of these systems become difficult to touch within a few years. Not because the problem was …Foundationalhttps://thechris.in/articles/on-restraint-boundaries-and-systems-thinking/Tue, 30 Dec 2025 23:30:56 +0530hello@thechris.in (Chris Roy)https://thechris.in/articles/on-restraint-boundaries-and-systems-thinking/Most systems do not fail because they were poorly designed. They fail because they violate constraints that were never made explicit.
At the beginning, most systems are tractable. The architecture is coherent. The abstractions are limited. The number of active invariants is small …Foundational