Stop being an architect! That's the answer. Remove the mantle of "software architect" and it's amazing how much you can whip up in short order. This was my realization today. I'm working on a project with multiple, nicely decoupled dependencies. How nice, right? Yes, in theory, but only in theory. If you prioritize speed you will hit this point of divergence where nicely architecting your software is a concept which must be thrown out. To truly prioritize speed you must imagine the ship is sinking, and neat software architecture is dead weight that must be thrown overboard. # If you don't take the time to build a well-architected system, it will bite you in the long run! Yes. Yes it will. However, this statement (while true) presumes that you are _not actually_ prioritizing speed. Rather, you are placing a high priority on speed while placing an even higher priority on speed _in the long run_. Speed _in the long run_ is not **speed**. # Do not prioritize speed _if possible_ To anyone who's been in the game for a few years or worked on long-lived projects, it's clear that focusing solely on speed has serious long-run consequences. So, whenever possible do not place the highest priority on speed. However, when what you really need is to ship _as soon as possible_ then considerations like software architecture must go out the window. Sometimes you only get to the long-run if you build terrible things in the short run, at high speed.