Ask HN: What is the most useless project you have worked on?

Hacker News Discussion ↗

What counts as “useless” work?

  • Many distinguish between “useless for the company” and “useful for the person”: skills gained, intuition for systems, and résumé bullets.
  • Others argue most software is transient; 80–90% of code is thrown away, so “uselessness” is normal rather than exceptional.
  • Some say a project is only truly useless if absolutely nobody uses it and nothing is learned.

Common patterns of useless projects

  • Large efforts canceled or shelved: multi‑year hardware and telco cards, health‑industry products waiting on contracts that never come, game projects lasting a decade, ERP/CRM migrations that burn millions then die.
  • Building substantial systems with no customers or after the customer already moved on; still required to “finish” for contractual or political reasons.
  • Hype‑driven pivots (AI/ML, blockchain, cloud, ML‑everywhere mandates) that worsen performance or economics but tick executive checkboxes.
  • Massive refactors and rewrites that have zero or invisible user impact, or are abandoned mid‑stream.

Internal tools, deprecation, and legacy systems

  • Many stories of maintaining “deprecated” tools for years because key teams or executives won’t move; supporting 0–5 users or even a single report.
  • Some companies keep duplicate stacks (old + new) indefinitely; others fund “service assassination teams” to force real decommissioning.
  • Budget silos often force engineers to work on X (funded but low value) while more valuable Y can’t be touched.

Attitudes toward meaning and morality of work

  • One camp: your obligation is to do assigned work ethically; if the company wants useless things, be glad to be paid for them.
  • Another camp: pointless work is demoralizing; people want impact, or at least honest utility, not “dig a hole and fill it.”
  • Separate concern: refusing to work on projects seen as harmful or “evil” (e.g., certain defense, gambling, or manipulative products).

Personal / hobby “useless” projects

  • Many share one‑user tools, games, toys, language experiments, or reverse‑engineering efforts labeled “useless” but heavily enjoyed and educational.
  • Consensus: these are often the most valuable for learning and happiness, even if they never find a wider audience.

Advice and coping strategies

  • Clarify business value with your manager; sometimes you’re covering contractual, risk, or political needs that aren’t obvious.
  • If stuck:
    • Use low‑stakes work to learn new tech, build portfolio pieces, or refactor safely.
    • Detach somewhat emotionally; don’t tie self‑worth to corporate strategy.
    • Watch for patterns (busywork, deprecation backwaters) as potential layoff signals and prepare an exit.