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Why Don't We Have Digital Assembly Lines?
1230 sats \ 18 comments \ @kr 6h AskSN
The 20th century was prime-time for the assembly line. There are countless famous examples including:
  • Henry Ford cutting the time it took to produce a vehicle by 10x with his Highland Park assembly line
  • McDonalds and Starbucks experimenting with thousands of layout variations in their stores to find the one optimal "path" for efficient production
  • Toyota's lean production system and values of "constant improvement"
  • Airlines all over the world focusing on minimizing turnaround time to boost profit
It's probably not a stretch to say there are trillions of dollars at stake in the race to be more efficient in the physical world, and everyone is working off a similar "best practices" playbook to limit waste, improve speed, and trim unnecessary steps from a system to earn more.
That's fine, but what about the digital world? What does a digital assembly line look like? What are the digital "best practices" for getting more work done, with fewer distractions or dead ends?
When I work (and I assume most people have similar work habits), I bounce around between all sorts of tabs on multiple devices all day long, and anyone observing me would have to conclude that I'm basically the exact opposite of efficient.
For all the value locked up in the digital world today, you'd think there would be some sort of "assembly line" or "efficiency" blueprint that was widely adopted, but I can't think of one off the top of my head.
Maybe this is a function of the way the digital world is structured, maybe it's just me, but maybe there are underappreciated rules, systems, or strategies that we could all be using to be more productive with our digital time.
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245 sats \ 2 replies \ @nullcount 4h
There are plenty of processes and methodologies to improve efficiency and reduce waste in digital production!
  1. automation - API's, scripts, build pipelines, LLMs
  2. standardization - templates, checklists, scheduled actions, routines
  3. quality control - tests, CI, peer-reviews
  4. ergonomics - single-task UIs, emulate devices in software so you don't need to switch between physical gadgets, no wasted clicks, use keyboard shortcuts, macros, don't touch the mouse!
  5. continuous improvement - team retrospectives, root cause analysis, daily stand ups, team operating agreements as a living document
LEAN, Agile, Scrum, Khanban are all widely adopted systems of streamlining production of software, content, media, etc.
anyone observing me would have to conclude that I'm basically the exact opposite of efficient.
sounds like a "you" problem
Everything in cyberspace is trying to steal your attention. You have to actively resist and put measures in place to "improve your workspace".
Computers are a bicycle for the mind. Part of the reason there is no standardized blueprint is everyone's mind works differently. But if you're feeling inefficient while harnessing your computer, you should try identifying the wasteful motions you make on a daily basis and look for ways to improve.
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55 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr OP 4h
You have to actively resist and put measures in place to "improve your workspace".
I appreciate the thoughtful response, I think you're getting at the core of my question here. I don't think anyone at Toyota is "actively resisting" chaos or distraction, their system keeps everything in check.
What are the ways one can improve their workspace to achieve similar levels of efficiency online?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nullcount 4h
Honestly, your first "efficiency action" should be to consult AI about these questions. It can provide personalized suggestions.
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10 sats \ 11 replies \ @optimism 6h
digital assembly lines:
  • gem
  • maven
  • npm
  • cargo
The best place to sabotage, just like in factories.
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100 sats \ 6 replies \ @kr OP 6h
I don't know what any of those words mean
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20 sats \ 2 replies \ @optimism 6h
Dependency managers for software development where you basically say "I want some software that does X" and then you call the package instead of implementing your own code for X.
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @kr OP 6h
I see, so sort of like the physical equivalent of getting someone else's factory to teleport into your own factory to provide a widget instead of making it yourself?
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @optimism 6h
Yeah, like outsourcing / supply chain. Instead of manufacturing your own nuts and bolts, you buy 'em and assemble your product on the line where you mix in these with components you made yourself.
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110 sats \ 2 replies \ @justin_shocknet 5h
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17 sats \ 0 replies \ @nichro 4h
lmao
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17 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 4h
lol
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 1h
Exactly
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120 sats \ 0 replies \ @Lumor 5h
Never used Ansible, but it seems to be somewhat in this dimension, recipes for assembling a system.
NixOS takes it one step further through being more declarative/functional rather than imperative as I understand it.
Both of the above are text files describing the components of a system, described by humans and then fulfilled by the computer.
Though I think @kr may be looking for some kind of framing for the human in doing vaguely similar tasks. Ways of minimizing distraction. Feels like virtual desktops was trying to solve part of that problem, but I never use them.
We're still waiting for the industrial revolution to fully unfold in the digital world.. still wallowing about as romantic artisans.
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @SimpleStacker 6h
My first thought too, though it was pip, then docker that came to mind for me
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @optimism 6h
Oh! Dockerfile - yes, good one! Despite it not always being useful to me (in those cases I write packer/terraform hcl for lxc), it really is the nicest container building format out there.
Not sure why I forgot about pip - especially since with uv you get a nice lockfile too nowadays.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @OT 26m
I'll offer a service right here. I see some people uploading AI produced subtitles for their videos. There are often mistakes that need a human to go through and check. I guess they don't because the cost is valued more than the quality.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nkmg1c_ventures 1h
There is Unit, which you may find interesting
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @satyagraha 3h
Assembly lines are for reproducible tangible products composed of tangible components, it's necessary.
In digital land you can copy the entire thing copy/paste. No assembly required.
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