There is a constant obsession in software development with learning more: more frameworks, more patterns, more tools, more courses. But after several years of building products, I discovered something:

What makes you a better developer is not only what you know technically, but how you think while you build.

Thinking shapes every decision: how you structure code, interpret problems, collaborate, estimate, and deliver. Over time, I found a set of principles that transformed how I approach any project. One principle stands above the rest as a guide: KISS. We will get to that in a moment.

1. Understand before you implement

One of the most common—and expensive—mistakes in development is writing code before fully understanding the problem.

I do not mean misunderstanding the technology. I mean misunderstanding the context:

  • what the person using the product actually needs;
  • what the real constraint is;
  • why the requirement exists;
  • what is essential and what is merely desirable.

I have lost entire days implementing solutions that solved “something,” but not the real problem. Eventually, you learn that one well-formed question can save hours of rebuilding.

Before writing code, ask yourself:

Do I truly understand what I am trying to solve?

If the answer is not an absolute yes, do not open the editor yet.

2. Do not marry your first solution

Developers have a quiet ego: we place a lot of trust in our technical intuition. Sometimes that helps. Often, it gets in the way.

The first solution is rarely the best one. The hard part is that the more time we invest in it, the harder it becomes to admit that. Attachment is the enemy of progress.

When you learn to let a solution go—even after hours of work—you become a more agile, honest, and effective developer. Your value is not in defending your code. It is in making the right decision, even when that means deleting your own work.

3. Prioritize finishing over starting

Starting things is easy. Initial motivation helps. Finishing is another story.

Many projects fail because they are never completed, not because they were never started. Finishing forces you to:

  • refine;
  • close loops;
  • polish details;
  • face the edge cases you missed at the beginning.

Finishing does more than deliver value: it trains you as an engineer. It forces you through the less exciting part of the process and turns a promising idea into something another person can actually use.

4. Document for your future self

Documentation is not bureaucracy. It is a way of thinking.

When you document, you organize ideas, justify decisions, and expose your reasoning. It is difficult to document something well if you do not understand it yet.

We have all returned to a piece of code and thought, “Who wrote this mess?” Then we discover it was us, three months earlier.

Documentation is not only for other people. It is an act of empathy toward your future self and a way to preserve context that disappears as a project moves forward.

5. Make reversible decisions

Some decisions lock you in:

  • overly rigid architectures;
  • unnecessary coupling;
  • ultra-specific patterns;
  • deep dependencies;
  • complexity nobody understands but you.

Other decisions are reversible:

  • small functions;
  • isolated modules;
  • clear conventions;
  • simple contracts;
  • patterns that can evolve.

A reversible decision lets you move without fear. If the requirement changes tomorrow, you can adjust without tearing down half the system.

As a developer, your goal should not be to demonstrate how much complexity you can build. It should be to show how quickly you can adapt without breaking things.

6. The principle that connects it all: KISS

KISS—Keep It Simple, Stupid—is the principle that has influenced my work the most.

Simplicity is not mediocrity. It is clarity, efficiency, and focus.

I used to design systems around an imagined “at scale” future from the start:

  • multiple layers “just in case”;
  • abstractions that were never used;
  • services prepared for traffic that did not exist;
  • hyper-flexible modules built for an uncertain future.

In reality, I was only making my own work harder.

KISS taught me something essential:

Not everything must scale. Not everything must be elegant. Not everything must be generic. What it must be is clear.

KISS helps me avoid overengineering and imaginary cases, deliver sooner, and recognize when scale is genuinely needed. It also helps me write code that I can change without breaking.

KISS does not mean “write the most basic thing possible.” It means: do not complicate what does not need to be complicated.

As a project grows, it is remarkable how much easier it is to scale a simple system than to repair one that was overdesigned from birth.

Conclusion: think simply, deliver better

An effective developer is not the person with the newest stack, the most patterns, or the most commands memorized. It is the person who thinks better.

The person who makes decisions that create freedom instead of constraints. Who understands the problem before writing code. Who avoids complication when it adds no value. Who knows when to scale—and when not to.

KISS is not only a technical principle. It is a mindset for building software that works, remains maintainable, and evolves.

When you learn to think this way, the technical work becomes easier. Because clarity always wins.