You Are Not A Craftsman

Despite the existence of a Software Craftsmanship Manifesto on the web, the majority of software development does not require a craftsman to build. In this session we will examine the conflicting priorities software development teams must navigate and discuss various definitions of craftsmen and how they relate to building software. This session will be a mix of prepared content and discussion in which the audience will be asked to evaluate the role of well crafted code in the context of their own development team.

Transcript

1. You Are Not A Craftsman H. Alan Stevens
4. Email/IM: alanstevens@gmail.com Blog: http://halanstevens.com Twitter: @alanstevens Contact Me
10. Grow, don't build, software. Fred Brooks
13. I'm fundamentally uninterested in whether software development is a craft, an art, a trade, or a dessert topping. Martin Fowler
14. Software Craftsmanship EXERCISE •Software Craftsmanship means... •Software craftsmen value... •Developers who are not craftsmen value... •We need a Software Craftsmanship movement to... •The purpose of a Software Craftsmanship group is...
15. noun /ˈkraf(t)smənˌSHip/  craftsmanships, plural Skill in a particular craft - I admire his engineering skills and craftsmanship The quality of design and work shown in something made by hand; artistry - a piece of fine craftsmanship crafts·man·ship
16. Craftsmanship is a self- sustaining system in which masters arrange for the training of their replacements and where status is based purely on the work you've done. Dave Thomas
17. A collective form of self-preoccupation. Michael Feathers
18. Pete McBreen In the end, software development is a craft skill that subtly blends art, science, and engineering. It's not just a day job; it can be a passion.
22. Being against craftsmanship is like being against World Peace, kittens or sliced bread. David Harvey
23. Skepticism is not pessimism
24. Corey Alan Leon
25. Skill EXERCISE •The most important skill for a developer is... •To improve my skill by 5% I would... •If I ship crappy code... •Sometimes, very skilled developers...
26. Great design does not come from great processes; it comes from great designers. Fred Brooks
27. I can teach you anything I need you to know, except how to care. H. Alan Stevens
28. My first proposal is that each software organization must determine and proclaim that great designers are as important to its success as great managers are, and that they can be expected to be similarly nurtured and rewarded. Fred Brooks
30. People with little skill have created plenty of successful software.
31. Aesthetics
32. Martin Fowler When you say 'craft' to people, they imagine fine workmanship, leather panelling, smooth joints - and consequently higher costs. The word 'craft' reinforces the tradable quality hypothesis and that's a crippling disadvantage to those of us who know that speed requires good design.
33. Pretension
36. LOTRO: The Cave Troll Picture by Devon Cady Lee Gorrem
37. The Design Stamina Hypothesis http://martinfowler.com/bliki/DesignStaminaHypothesis.html
38. Let’s not devalue true craftsmen by overstating the craft in software development
39. www.ryanguitars.com
40. www.ryanguitars.com
42. Monoculture
43. That dialog box in Windows that asks you how you want your help file indexed does not in any way, shape, or form resemble what any normal English speaker would refer to as "craftsmanship." Joel Spolsky
44. Good Enough EXERCISE •At the thought of good enough I... •The minimum acceptable code quality... •Code that works is... •If I don’t have schedule or budget to build it right...
45. Optimalist
46. Minimum Viable Product
47. Building the right thing is always more important than building it right. H. Alan Stevens
48. My biggest challenge as a developer is coding the right thing, rather than coding the thing right. Liz Koegh
49. I’m not going to mandate test- driving anything (which is a huge about-face from what I was saying a year ago), unless it will help. Dan North
50. WAT?
51. Values
52. Humility
53. Sir Laurence Olivier I think a poet is a workman. I think Shakespeare was a workman. And God is a workman. I don't think there is anything better than being a workman.
54. Communication Over Procedures
55. Companies are like families. They are all dysfunctional. The key is to find a loving one. H. Alan Stevens
56. LOVE
57. Understanding is more important than coding.
58. the moon It's like nothing they compare it to Unknown
59. Thanks For Listening! Email/IM: alanstevens@gmail.com Blog: http://halanstevens.com Twitter: @alanstevens