Why Enterprise Architects Should Be Measured on Simplicity

[Abhijeet Upadh2]

Many architecture discussions celebrate complexity. Large solution diagrams, intricate integrations, and sophisticated technical patterns can create the impression of architectural excellence. However, after years of designing and reviewing ServiceNow solutions, I have become convinced that architects should be measured on something very different: simplicity.

Simplicity is often misunderstood. It does not mean avoiding complexity where complexity is genuinely required. Rather, it means ensuring that complexity exists only where it provides measurable value.

Every additional integration, approval step, custom table, script, or workflow introduces maintenance overhead. These overheads rarely appear on project plans, but they accumulate over time and eventually affect platform agility, upgrade effort, and operational support costs.

The challenge is that complex solutions can sometimes appear more impressive than simple ones. Stakeholders may assume that greater complexity reflects greater capability. Experienced architects know that the opposite is frequently true.

A simple architecture is easier to understand, easier to support, easier to extend, and easier to transfer between teams. It reduces risk because there are fewer moving parts and fewer dependencies that can fail unexpectedly.

One question I often ask during design reviews is whether a proposed solution is solving a business problem or simply demonstrating technical capability. The answer often reveals opportunities for simplification.

The most successful ServiceNow platforms I have encountered are not necessarily those with the most advanced technical designs. They are the platforms where complexity has been deliberately managed and unnecessary components have been removed.

Good architecture creates solutions. Great architecture creates simplicity.