Someone behind the software

What the essay says

The writer says good products carry a bit of their makers. Their experience, values, and ideas about how things should work show up in the product. The writer thinks that many new products are built like factories, with each change added one by one. The result can feel messy, with no single clear idea behind it.

Linear's idea of intuition

At Linear, the team says it values intuition over process or data. They do not mean guessing. They mean judgment built from experience, like talking to customers, making mistakes, and learning what matters. Before launching, the team talked with people across many companies and roles about how they worked. The writer says these talks made their view better.

Key points from the essay

• Good products have a clear character, which the writer calls the product's soul.
• A feature can work well on its own and still make the whole product worse.
• Many people now work with AI agents, each one building changes like a small software factory.
• The writer fears that products will become an average of many small changes, with no clear voice.

Why this matters

Software is becoming easier to make, so more products are being built faster. The writer says this is a chance for people to think deeply about a problem. But if every feature is added without a shared plan, users may find products harder to understand and less personal. The essay asks makers to choose what to leave out and to stay close to customers.

What to watch

• Whether more software companies choose a clear point of view over long lists of new features.
• How AI agents change the way teams organize their work.
• Whether users notice a difference between products with a clear voice and products that feel average.