Software Gravity

I have a deep appreciation for Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, author, and science communicator.

He has spoken about the immense challenge of sending something into space, particularly the need to overcome Earth’s gravity.

When trying to break free from our planet’s gravitational pull, weight becomes a disadvantage. Space-bound artefacts must be made as small and light as possible.

This challenge drives miniaturisation, which has a significant impact on other fields, such as medicine and materials science.

But the true value of space research goes beyond its influence on other disciplines. More importantly, it fosters a mindset of continuous innovation.

That immediately sparked a parallel in my mind with software development: if weight is the main challenge in space, what is its equivalent in software?

Perhaps the size of change sets, the size of artefacts, or the size of pull requests? The push to keep things small naturally leads to greater speed—shorter build times, faster deployments, and quicker feedback loops.

Just like in space research, teams can only innovate when they embrace a culture of miniaturisation.

The most important effect of embracing Continuous Delivery is not just the ability to release software frequently. It reinforces key principles and values, shaping a culture of innovation that extends far beyond the technical process.