Ah, the untamable attraction to new shiny things. Personally, I am more drawn to actual shiny things rather than frameworks, but hey, we all got our preferences.
You’re not alone in this observation. Many software development teams jump on new frameworks and tools when they pop up and gain popularity. The problem with this excitement is that the framework or tool might not be particularly suitable for the team or project at hand. This what we call ‘The Bandwagon Effect’ in social sciences.
The Bandwagon effect is a cognitive bias that refers to the human tendency to adopt certain behaviors, beliefs or attitudes because many other people are doing so. It affects our choices – positively or negatively. Jumping on a bandwagon might inspire us to adopt new behaviors that turn out to positively affect our way of working, but it might also lead us to try questionable frameworks that add unnecessary complexity to our domains.
The moral of the story: you will be tempted to use a new shiny thing simply because it’s repeatedly brought to your attention and used by a lot of other teams and organizations. My advice: control your urge to jump on the bandwagon. Explore the tool or framework, critically evaluate what it can add to your existing context, and make a rational decision on whether or not you’ll adopt it.
Want to know more about cognitive bias in software design? Check out chapter 7 to explore more cognitive biases and their effect on software design.
XoXo CoMo
