I think you can get to "easier" if you have the a) budget to hire the people that are good enough and b) the time and discipline to create the abstractions so it gets easier over time.

Most shops will not have that kind of time and money, so the default will be "harder". Also, to be fair, most shops will not be led by individuals that understand why ensuring things get easier / faster is important in the short term, so that also complicates things a bit.