Scales of cities, scales of software An Article by Linus the Sephist linus.coffee American cities seem like a product of industrial processes where older European cities seem like a product of human processes. This is because most American cities were built after and alongside the car and the industrial revolution – the design of cities took into account what was easily possible, and that guided the shape and scale of everything. Software has similar analogues. There are software codebases that feel much more industrially generated than hand written, and they’re usually written in automation-rich environments fitting into frameworks and other orchestrating code. …But despite the availability of cars, I still much prefer the scale and ambiance of European, human-scale cities, because ultimately cities are places humans must inhabit and understand. In the same way, I still much prefer the scale and ambiance of hand-written codebases even in the presence of heavy programming tooling, because ultimately codebases are places humans must inhabit. urbanismsoftwarescaleindustry
evermore, and other beautiful things An Article by Linus the Sephist linus.coffee If all evidence of civilization on Earth was destroyed, and humans had to re-build society from the ground up, what would be different? Feynman reckons that pivotal scientific moments, like the discovery of the atom, will still happen in the same way. Perhaps mathematics will be similarly rediscovered. Someone told me once in response to this question, no artwork would ever be recreated. The art we create – music, stories, dance, film – isn’t a fundamental element of the universe, or even of humanity. It’s unique to each artist. If you choose to create art, you leave something in the world that has never had a chance to exist before, and will never again have a chance to exist. There will never be another Beatles or Studio Ghibli or Picasso. Art, in its infinite variations of originality, is cosmically unique in a way the sciences will never be. Art immortalizes human experiences that would otherwise vanish in time. artsciencehumanitysociety
Manifesto for Agile Software Development A Definition agilemanifesto.org We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value: Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more. Deliver early and continuouslyWelcome changing requirementsSelf-organizing teamsTechnical excellence and good designAgility and sustainability+7 More agileprocesssoftware
Deliver early and continuously Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
Welcome changing requirements Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer's competitive advantage. A late change in requirements is a competitive advantage planning
Self-organizing teams The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
Technical excellence and good design Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility. craft
Agility and sustainability Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
The amount of work not done Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential. -2000 Lines Of Code simplicity
Build projects around motivated individuals Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done. On ValueOn Talent
Deliver working software frequently Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
Business people and developers Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project. collaboration
Face-to-face conversations The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation. teamwork
Reflect, tune, adjust At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.