Software Craftsmanship

Softengines has now signed the manifesto for software craftsmanship. This manifesto follows on from and extends the manifesto for agile software development. Both recognise the limitations of the engineering metaphor applied to the creation of software. They also value the individual and his or her professional skills and knowledge over management processes where those individual are lost in the machine of organisation. What agility acknowledges is that software requirements will always change. The best software therefore will always be a work in progress, solving problems for which there is no one solution, which suggests a craft rather than an exact science. There is discussion about what exactly is meant by software craftsmanship and whether it is self-evidently an oxymoron.

The end consumer is not concerned with the details of how something is made, but whether or not it works well, for the craftsman if it is well made then the chances are it will work well. Whether making software is described as a science, engineering or craft is not important. The one thing it is not is the geek voodoo that it is all too often regarded as. It is a discipline that involves knowledge, experience and attention to detail which is why the manifesto for software craftsmanship stands alone as a suitable mission statement for anyone in the profession.

For more information on agile software development, read The New Methodology by Martin Fowler, also I would recommend The Cathedral and the Bazaar by Eric Steven Raymond for different perspective on creating software.

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