Good architecture upgrades the problems you solve, turning simple tradeoffs into richer challenges that deliver higher impact, as shown by Netflix's shift to global personalization models.
Good architecture is about choosing to solve a better problem, not just balancing a list of tradeoffs. The author argues that when you upgrade the problem space-trading today's friction for tomorrow's richer challenges-you create far more value than you would by simply minimizing negatives.
The piece uses Netflix's 2015 move from regional to global personalization models as a concrete example. Regional models were easy to train and serve, but they limited learning across user cohorts. By moving to a single global model the team had to curate diverse, stratified training data across countries, devices, and tenure, a far more interesting and complex problem. The author's own work on sampling that data illustrates how tackling a tougher problem can unlock broader improvements.
For technical leaders the takeaway is to reframe decisions as problem upgrades. Executives need concise, impact-focused narratives, not flat pros-and-cons tables. By showing how a choice elevates the underlying problem, leaders can drive higher-impact outcomes and avoid getting stuck in manufactured complexity or fear-based stalling tactics.
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