By the handling of human hands This type of beauty grows with each passing day. Utilitarian craftwares become more beautiful the more they are used, and the more beautiful they become, the more they are used. Moreover, the heavens have ordained that these objects should attain an even greater beauty as they become worn by the handling of human hands. Yanagi Sōetsu, The Beauty of Miscellaneous Things Putting Thought Into Things utility
Our aesthetic sense has been severely impaired Until now we have been taught that the right way to appreciate beauty is through visual perception. Utilitarian crafts have been looked down on as something of a lower rank. As a result, our aesthetic sense has been severely impaired owing to the fact that beauty and life are treated as separate realms of being. Yanagi Sōetsu, What is Folk Craft? utility
Primary uses Any primary use whatever, by itself is relatively ineffectual as a creator of city diversity. If it is combined with another primary use that brings people in and out and puts them on the street at the same time, nothing has been accomplished. In practical terms, we cannot even call these differing primary uses. Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities utility
Wide sidewalks The narrower the sidewalks, the more sedentary incidental play becomes. Sidewalks thirty or thirty-five feet wide can accommodate virtually any demand of incidental play put upon them—along with trees to shade the activities, and sufficient space for pedestrian circulation and adult public sidewalk life and loitering. Few sidewalks of this luxurious width can be found. Sidewalk width is invariably sacrificed for vehicular width, partly because city sidewalks are conventionally considered to be purely space for pedestrian travel and access to buildings. Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities utility
Hacking is the opposite of marketing An Article by Tom MacWright macwright.com One of my favorite definitions of “hacking” is the creative reuse of tools for new and unexpected purposes. Hacking is using your email account as a hard drive, using your bicycle seat to open a beer, using Minecraft’s red bricks to create a calculator in the game. The opposite of hacking is marketing. Marketing tells you that this particular non-stick pan is the pan you’ll use to make omelettes, and you’ll do it in the morning dressed in fashionable clothing in a nice kitchen. It includes a photo and inspirational copywriting to drive this home. Marketing dictates a style, context, and purpose for even the most general-purpose products. This narrative needs to be specific so that you can readily imagine it: it’s you, in an Airbnb, laughing with friends. All sorts of ways to use the machineIn ways you didn't anticipateStretching the product toolsadvertisingcreativityutility
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.