@inthehands Things which ought to be obvious bear repeating, to check that our premises haven't changed.
Brooks' No Silver Bullet and Mythical Man-Month remain relevant critiques and mostly unlearned lessons; an indictment of the information technology field as practiced in the world.
NSB is absolutely worth checking. If you make the "how" as easy as you can, you're grappling with the "what".
Opinions vary on the division between "how" and "what". ("dev" and "product"?)