The irony of added man power
If the job was to dig a ditch, then obviously the more men the better, because people don't have to replicate work, and the nature of the work is independent but collaborative. With software it doesn't work like that, because software has a kind of organic nature, because it is being constructed by people. So, it is more like a surgical team, and adding people might help, depending on their skill and expertise, but adding too many people can lead to a dead software.
The ironic chaos of technology
The end user understands the chaos of technology through the revised editions of software that get released, through errors and bugs, bug fixes and patches, and through the progress of technology through time. Ironically, though, the software developer has to experience the full weight of chaos in order to have constructed some technology that is genuinely helpful. The task involves real unpredictability, and the financial aspect of a project can often add dread to the engineer's time.
The ironic enmity of tech endeavors
Often there is toxicity in an office, because it would be inappropriate to explain to a paying employer that they were technically too uninformed or unintelligent to properly fathom the problems that the engineer is facing. That's why leaders have to be competent socially, because paranoia among tech company leadership can lead very quickly to rushed jobs and an increase in human error. The question is one of trust and patience, which are surprisingly organic, considering the nature of computer science.
The irony of economy
The economic aspect of these endeavors is technically ironic, because the engineer works to take a salary so that the software can help other people to make money, either by selling the software or by using it in some money-making endeavor. Ironically, the economic component of any project will affect the project in important ways, and the real monetary limitations of a company will determine their ability to hire certain kinds of engineers.
The irony of true complexity
In order for a person to succeed in their role as a software engineer, they have to understand the true complexity of a computer's calculation and potential. The irony is that their imagination must be technically correct, but also very strong and robust, because they must solve problems with very limited data about why a problem is occurring at all. They must often resort to creativeness, under all the pressure of the real-world complexity of a problem.
