Engineering at MindLabs

Engineering Principles

1. We are experiment driven

   We experiment to remove assumptions and iterate to discover the right ways forward. We put the minimum amount of effort to deliver the maximum amount of value, we measure, and we learn.

2. We build and optimise for maintainability

   Code is a liability — the less we have to maintain, the better. We leverage third-party providers for our generic subdomains. Focusing on our core domain enables us to focus on our competitive advantage.

   We also like to keep it simple. Over-abstraction, over-engineering and premature optimisation are engineers' worst enemies. Whether it manifests itself when writing code or designing a part of the architecture, they get in the way of quick time to market and add unnecessary cognitive load.

3. Readability first

   Code written today is tomorrow's technical debt. We prefer clean, readable and maintainable over convoluted code and fancy one-liners.

   Code is read more than it is written, and by manyfold. Complicated code is not only error-prone but costs a lot of time to your teammates.

4. We use the right tool for the job

   Introducing new technologies to a stack comes at a cost. We favour mature over new and unproven technologies. While we all like new technologies, they need to go through a comprehensive cost/benefit analysis before we introduce them to solve a specific problem.

5. We are pragmatic

   We strive to challenge ourselves to identify sunk cost and pivot early. Bad decisions are common, plans don't always work out as expected. We embrace this idea, adapt, and move on as quickly as possible.

6. Aligned Autonomy

   We deeply value a sense of ownership, autonomy and people that have a hunger to learn and drive themselves forward without micromanagement. We are all aligned and work towards a common goal but we trust our engineers to know how to get there.