The paper from 2001 by Dr. LJ Hart-Smith, referenced in the article is just as interesting as the article itself
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/69746-hart-smith-on-...If you squint, could apply some of those observation to the world of software.
For a TL;DR just skip to Hart-Smith's recommendations list at the end of the paper. Here are the ones I liked:
> Look continuously at the entire activity. Do not minimize costs in isolation. Understand that one global cost minimization is worth far more than even 20 sub-optimum cost reductions.
> Retain sufficient in-house production manufacturing that it is possible for future engineers to acquire the skills needed to develop new products, without which all businesses will fail. Even the work that is out-sourced requires internal expertise to write the specifications.
> Acknowledge that cost-saving techniques that work in other high-volume industries are often quite inappropriate for low-volume industries like aerospace.
> Listen more to your own employees about how to save cost than to any outside business consultants who have never run a factory producing your kind of product. In any event, if the advice they offer changes every year, it cannot possibly be correct.
If you squint, could apply some of those observation to the world of software.
For a TL;DR just skip to Hart-Smith's recommendations list at the end of the paper. Here are the ones I liked:
> Look continuously at the entire activity. Do not minimize costs in isolation. Understand that one global cost minimization is worth far more than even 20 sub-optimum cost reductions.
> Retain sufficient in-house production manufacturing that it is possible for future engineers to acquire the skills needed to develop new products, without which all businesses will fail. Even the work that is out-sourced requires internal expertise to write the specifications.
> Acknowledge that cost-saving techniques that work in other high-volume industries are often quite inappropriate for low-volume industries like aerospace.
> Listen more to your own employees about how to save cost than to any outside business consultants who have never run a factory producing your kind of product. In any event, if the advice they offer changes every year, it cannot possibly be correct.