Comment by dalibenothmen

Thank you so much for this thoughtful comment. I want to start by sincerely apologizing if the analogy came off as dismissive or disrespectful. I didn't mean to diminish from excel at all, in fact, you've highlighted exactly why Excel is so powerful and why my analogy works, just not in the way I originally framed it. Let me clarify what I was trying to get at: Excel's success comes from empowering domain experts like Karen to solve real problems without needing a computer science degree. That's genuinely amazing and valuable. The "problem" isn't Excel itself or Karen's contribution, it's when the tool becomes the permanent solution rather than a stepping stone. My point about visual workflow tools was similar: they're incredibly powerful for rapid prototyping and getting things done quickly. But when professional developers (whose core skill is writing maintainable, scalable code) use them as their primary solution, we might be missing opportunities for more robust, long-term approaches. You're spot on about the value vs. cost center perspective. In Karen's case, the smart move is absolutely to work WITH her domain expertise while adding technical structure. Similarly, visual workflow tools can be fantastic for proof-of-concept or when you need something working yesterday. I think my tone came across as dismissive when I meant to be more reflective about when we choose the right tool for the job. Thanks for pushing back on this, it's made me think more carefully about how I frame these discussions. Both Excel and visual workflow tools have earned their success for good reasons.