The Manifesto for Software Craftsmanship
Dan North says that programming is not a craft. Liz Keogh doesn’t view it that way either. Dan’s post is extensive, and I don’t have time right now to respond to the numerous important points he brings up. So, like Liz, I’ll focus on their take on the Software Craftsmanship Manifesto. I have a ton of respect for both of these people, and while Dan’s post requires some ego-swallowing to digest, I think their writings on this provide extremely valuable feedback to those of us who identify ourselves as (aspiring) software craftsmen.
I was one of the few dozen people at the software craftsmanship summit over two years ago. It was an attempt to start putting some definition around the ideals that had bonded us together over the years since Software Craftsmanship was published. It was an eventful day, facilitated by 8th Light, which culminated in a group discussion that provided enough building blocks for Doug Bradbury to draft the current version of the manifesto based on subsequent discussions on the mailing list.
My takeaway from reading the posts by Dan and Liz, and also Adewale Oshineye’s response to Dan, is that it’s time we revisited our manifesto and release the next iteration based on what we have learned over the last two years. Let’s consider the advice of these experienced, successful, and dedicated software professionals as we consider the next iteration:
Dan:
I would love to see someone rewrite the Software Craftsmanship Manifesto in terms of getting results and delighting customers. I don’t want “steadily adding value,” I want “amazing their customers every day!” Software craftsmen should be egoless, humble, with a focus on the outcome rather than the code or the process.
Ade:
…perhaps we should add a Further Reading section to the Manifesto’s website to help reduce [Dan’s] kind of confusion?
Liz:
I dislike the wording of the manifesto’s points because I don’t think they differentiate between programmers who genuinely care about the value they deliver, programmers who care about the beauty of their code, and programmers who hold a mistaken belief in their own abilities.
Dan:
Now here’s what I want you to do. I do think there should be a Software Craftsmanship Manifesto, but not the thing that’s currently out there. I think it should be a call-to-arms, feisty, opinionated, brash and everything that a good manifesto should be (I’m channelling Kevlin Henney here). I also think there should be a way for passionate, skilled programmers to differentiate themselves from the mainstream commodity bodies, and also to recognise one another, and demonstrate their value to potential employers. What could that be, and how could we make it work?