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Why Developers Work Late: Psychological Ownership, Hero Culture, and Guilt-Driven Management in Tech

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Across startups, enterprises, and consulting firms, one pattern appears with surprising consistency: software developers work late. Not occasionally, not exceptionally, but structurally. Even in organizations that promote work–life balance, late evenings before releases, weekend debugging sessions, and silent overtime remain common. The easy explanation is productivity pressure. The superficial one is passion. The uncomfortable one is poor management. The real answer is more complex. Understanding why developers work late requires examining psychology, organizational behavior, leadership models, and technical architecture. When we do, a powerful insight emerges: persistent overwork in software engineering is rarely about individual weakness. It is usually the predictable outcome of how systems are designed. The Personalization of Systemic Failure In complex software environments, delays rarely originate from a single individual. Modern systems are shaped by interdependencies: product ...
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Why Talented Developers Leave Legacy Monolithic Projects — A Human Story About Architecture, Isolation, and Lost Vision

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There is a silent problem in many software companies today. It is not about frameworks. It is not about cloud migration. It is not even about monolithic architecture itself. It is about people. A friend of mine — a passionate software developer with solid experience in Angular and Spring Boot microservices — was recently hired to work on what the company described as a “cleanup and improvement initiative” for a legacy monolithic application. On paper, it sounded like a modernization effort. In reality, it was something very different. Within a few days, the enthusiasm that had accompanied his new role began to fade. The Hidden Reality of Legacy Monolithic Applications Legacy monolithic systems are everywhere. Many organizations still rely on them to run core business processes. These systems are often stable, deeply integrated, and business-critical. The problem is not that they exist. The problem is how they are managed. Instead of a strategic modernization plan, my friend found himse...
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Handling Database Schema Drift in Multi-Tenant Spring Boot Applications

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Handling Database Schema Drift  When building a Spring Boot web application that must be deployed across multiple customers, it is common to face a challenging scenario: all customers use similar databases, but not all database schemas are perfectly aligned. Some clients may have: Tables missing newly introduced columns Tables partially updated due to failed or delayed migrations Legacy schemas that evolved independently over time This situation, often referred to as database schema drift , can easily lead to runtime errors, failed queries, and fragile application logic if not handled correctly. In this article, we’ll explore the best architectural and technical solutions, ordered from most robust and scalable to simplest and most tactical, to handle schema differences in a multi-customer Spring Boot environment. Why Schema Drift Is a Serious Problem Before diving into solutions, it’s important to understan...
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Design by Committee: Why Collective Decisions Break Software Engineering

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In theory, collaboration is one of the greatest strengths of software engineering. Diverse perspectives, shared ownership, and collective problem-solving are often cited as key ingredients of successful teams. In practice, however, collaboration can easily degenerate into something far less effective: design by committee . Design by committee is a well-known anti-pattern in software development where technical decisions are made by large groups without clear ownership, authority, or accountability. Instead of producing robust solutions, this approach often leads to diluted designs, endless discussions, and systems that satisfy no one while solving little. This article explores what design by committee really is, why it happens so often in IT organizations, how it damages software quality and delivery, and—most importantly—how to avoid it. What Is Design by Committee? Design by committee occurs when: Technical decisions are made by groups rather than by clearly accountable experts Parti...
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