September 2020 Summaries

Hex, a company focused on making data workflows more collaborative, has developed an approach to real-time collaboration called Atomic Operations (AO). Inspired by Figma's hybrid solution, AO breaks down all edits to application state into their smallest atomic parts. This technique allows for easy implementation and compatibility with Hex's existing stack while maintaining control over the application foundations. The main trade-off is that certain types of mutations can be difficult to express as simple last-writer-wins operations, such as live multi-user editing of text strings. However, this limitation is acceptable for Hex since its product uses a cell-based, notebook-style logic UI.

The U.S. Navy's MQ-8C Fire Scout drone exemplifies an incremental approach to development, which contrasts with other recent military projects that have run over budget and schedule due to attempting "great leaps" in technology. The MQ-8C utilizes existing designs from the Bell 407 helicopter and the MQ-8B Fire Scout drone, making modest changes and deploying within a few years. This approach is also applicable in software development, where incrementalism can prevent delays and vaporware by focusing on small, shippable chunks of progress. The article suggests that taking smaller steps does not mean lack of ambition but rather a more efficient path to achieving the ultimate goal.