What are these 7 years projects? Sending a man on the moon? Most large software projects take 2-3 years or else they run serious risk of getting cancelled completely
These projects were the cornerstones of businesses sized from a couple dozen to a few hundred employees.
the point about being around for longer to see the effects of your mistakes assumes you're not a cog in the wheel.
> the point about being around for longer to see the effects of your mistakes assumes you're not a cog in the wheel.
Ideally—yes. In practice, decisions that should take QARs into account but don't are made by almost any IC level. I have seen systems designed by interns. You could say it's a company culture problem, and I would partially agree. On the other hand, tech companies have a tendency to lean into empowering ICs and so what ends up happening is that inexperienced engineers design systems that are only reviewed by overworked (and maybe not particularly experienced and/or motivated) senior ICs.