April 2025
Universal Answer of All Software Related Questions
Even before I got into software development, I was already witnessing heated discussions sparked by the latest tech trends. These debates haven’t stopped — they’ve just evolved. In fact, sometimes just having two options is enough to light the fire. And when there are more? Things can get intense pretty fast.
A few years ago, the hot topic was whether Tailwind CSS was good or pointless. Today, it’s all about AI and agents — can they really help train junior developers, or not? And tomorrow, a new technology will land, and we’ll start debating whether it’s a game-changer or just noise. New tools, frameworks, and libraries drop every day, and with each one comes a wave of opinions.
In the middle of all this noise, there’s one answer that always seems to show up:
“It depends.”
It’s simple, it’s safe — and it’s everywhere. But is that a good thing? Let’s take a look at both sides of this phrase, like two sides of the same coin.
As discussions go deeper, it’s easy to get caught up in the details and forget the big picture. “It depends” can be the reminder we need to zoom out, see the context, and refocus on the actual goal. It helps us avoid tunnel vision and think critically about what really matters: the use case, the team, the constraints, the people.
Sometimes, saying “it depends” is exactly what pulls the conversation back into a meaningful direction. It can prevent us from turning debates into battles and helps us think in systems, not silos.
But here’s the catch — for a discussion to move forward, we need perspectives to challenge each other. And “it depends” on its own isn’t really a perspective. When overused, it starts to feel like a way of staying neutral or avoiding the topic altogether.
In those moments, it’s important not to stop at the phrase. If you’re going to say “it depends,” follow it up with what it actually depends on. What context are you thinking of? What trade-offs are you seeing? What have you experienced in practice?
That’s when the answer becomes powerful — when it’s not the end of the discussion, but the start of a more thoughtful one.
“It depends” isn’t a cop-out — but it can be. Like most things in tech, it’s all about how we use it. When it becomes a way to invite nuance and context, it’s a great tool. When it becomes a way to avoid committing to an idea, it shuts the door on valuable dialogue.
So next time you hear (or say) those two words, take a moment to go one step further. Share your reasoning. Offer the context. That’s where real conversations begin.