Great piece, Willem-Jan! I totally get where you're coming from with the silo frustration. In my own work, I've seen how silos can really throw a wrench in the works, especially in software development.

I would add, that in the case of software development it is critical to tear down those silos in the right direction.

For example, I have observed two main directions in which people focus on how to tear down those silos. The most common direction is across domain, trying to move and reuse developers in different aspects of the same application, or several applications, with the objective of broadening their vision. On the other hand, there are the functional silos, silos focused on steps of one development not on what they target. Those silos are product department, engineering, etc.

What I have discovered is that this second approach, breaking down functional silos, is particularly effective. This is an artificial separation of the same task that slows all the process with lots of layers of handoffs and approvals, instead of just face-to-face communication.

On the other hand, I have observed that breaking down domain silos may lead to inefficiencies, and even damaging the quality. In fact, the whole objective of DDD (is helping to create the right silos).

Well, I have this more detailed in my How to Properly Break Down Silos in Software Development.

Thank you so much for your approach!