You're clashing with your boss on software design methodologies. How can you find common ground?

Find the things you actually agree on. Build a foundation on that in small compromises. Sometimes 2 people compromising means both are unhappy but there is at least agreement on foundations and goals.

1.Schedule a respectful meeting to discuss your differences. 2.Listen actively to understand your boss's perspective fully. 3.Present your viewpoint with clear, supportive evidence. 4.Focus on shared goals like project success and quality code. 5.Identify common ground between both methodologies. 6.Propose a hybrid approach combining strengths from each. 7.Suggest a trial period to test the combined method. Agree to evaluate the results and adjust as necessary. 8.Emphasize collaboration and the team's best interests. 9.Show willingness to compromise for the project's success.

- Its always important to be a patient listener and be adaptive to the ideas on designing solutions. Giving enough time and space for others to discuss their ideas can itself resolve some of the contraints that we are unaware of. - In my experience, providing a design solution would also depend on resident skills that team has and technology stack that organization is already invested into.This can help in bringing the common grounds faster. - I would also encourage presenting both the designs in a common architecture review board with other architects/engineers to seek feedback and arrive at a common solution. - Considering business priority would help selecting or creating the common solution faster and resolve conflicts in timely manner.

Finding a common ground may not always be possible. One of the laws of power is to not try to eclipse your superior. Therefore, be careful and patient to understand your boss' perspective in line with his objectives. Discuss your contrary opinions with him respectfully while presenting clearly the benefits. This does not guarantee that your opinion will be accepted. Whichever way your boss chooses to go, stay committed to the success of the team and build trust over time. Sooner or later, you may find that your boss becomes more interested in your perspective.

Finding common ground from my experience requires conveying the evidence to prove or disprove the approach. With individuals in tech - in my experience - logic and evidence of data are the only way to acheive this. However, sometimes the decision has already been made with siginficant investment and you are forced to make it work. So to find a compromise there requires looking at the detail of the project and adpating the methodology to suit based on what the objectives are and the team involved.

If you and your boss disagree on software design methods, presenting your side clearly can help you find common ground. Start by calmly explaining why you believe your approach is beneficial, highlight how it could improve the project and align with goals. Share examples or data that support your points, showing why your method could lead to better results. Also, listen to your boss’s perspective and try to find areas where your goals overlap. By keeping the conversation focused on facts and staying open-minded, you can often find a middle ground that works for both of you.

A company I once worked for wanted us to develop something totally new to us. In the meeting, I told management that to do it right we would need to prototype something, learn what worked and what didn't, and then build the product. Their response? Literally, word for word: "We don't have time to do it right". They were in charge, so we threw something together that everyone knew was no where near ready and chucked it out the door. Surprisingly, the project was cancelled shortly after because the customers hated what we gave them.

It is important to land in a common ground. 1. Try to understand the advantages of manager's methodologies and the same advantages can be achieved with your methodologies, if not then let's find a hybrid methodology. 2. Help him to understand the disadvantages and how your methodologies would help to counter those.