The document discusses different perspectives on software craftsmanship. It provides quotes from various individuals that have differing views, from seeing it as a craft and skill to be nurtured, to those who are more skeptical of the term or think its importance is overstated. The document also presents some exercises for readers to reflect on their own stance towards concepts like quality, aesthetics, skills, and values related to software development.
12. I'm fundamentally uninterested in
whether software development
is a craft, an art, a trade, or a
dessert topping.
Martin Fowler
13. 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...
14. 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
15. 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. 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.
24. 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...
25. Great design does not come
from great processes;
it comes from great designers.
Fred Brooks
26. I can teach you anything
I need you to know,
except how to care.
H. Alan Stevens
27. 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
31. 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.
42. 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
43. 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...
52. 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.