Engineering Decisions That Matter

In software engineering, we make hundreds of decisions every day. Most are trivial. Some are critical. The challenge is knowing which is which.

The Decision Spectrum

Not all decisions deserve equal treatment. Here's how to think about them:

Trivial Decisions

Easy to reverse
Low impact if wrong
Can be changed later without significant cost

Example: Choosing between two similar UI libraries

Important Decisions

Moderate impact
Some cost to reverse
Worth some discussion

Example: Choosing a database for a new feature

Critical Decisions

Hard or impossible to reverse
High long-term impact
Multiple stakeholders affected
Architectural implications

Example: Choosing between microservices and monolith architecture

When to Use Boundary

Boundary is designed for decisions that fall into the "critical" category. These are decisions where:

Reversibility is low - Once you commit, changing course is expensive
Impact is high - The decision affects multiple teams or long-term architecture
Trade-offs are complex - Multiple competing concerns need to be balanced
Stakes are high - Getting it wrong has serious consequences

The Power of Structured Debate

When facing a critical decision, a structured debate between multiple perspectives helps you:

Surface hidden assumptions - What are you taking for granted?
Identify failure modes - What could go wrong?
Clarify trade-offs - What are you giving up?
Understand commitments - What are you locking yourself into?

Example: Database Choice

Consider choosing a database for a new service. A single perspective might focus on performance. A multi-agent debate would surface:

Scalability concerns - How will this scale?
Operational complexity - What's the maintenance burden?
Cost implications - What are the long-term costs?
Team expertise - Does the team have the skills?
Vendor lock-in - How easy is it to migrate later?

Conclusion

Not every decision needs a debate. But for the decisions that matter, the ones that are hard to reverse and have lasting impact, a structured multi-agent debate can help you make better choices.

Ready to debate your next critical decision? Try Boundary and see what perspectives you might be missing.

What decisions have you made that you wish you'd debated more? Share your thoughts at hi@boundary-mcp.ai