Some people seem to think that following an Agile process will get you good software. But, the reality is that Software Craftsmanship is found in the work produced, not in the process followed. The Agile Manifesto hints at this, but many have missed it. How do you get that quality up there, consistently keep it there, and keep raising the bar? Through a combination of some discussion on the nature of Skills Acquisition, and an analysis of common practices in software development (from Tests to Pull Requests to Pair Programming), we’ll paint a picture of how to become a true expert that you can’t get from “Agile alone”.

1. Software Craftsmanship:
Agile is Not Enough
Ken Auer
@kauerrolemodel
ken.auer@rolemodelsoftware.com

2. Phenomenon*
1.a fact or situation that is observed to
exist or happen, esp. one whose cause
or explanation is in question.
* https://www.google.com/search?q=Phenomenon

3. Community
Participation*
1.Community Participation is a
progressive political party in Colombia.
At the last legislative elections, 10
March 2002, the party won, as one of
the many small parties, parliamentary
representation. In the election of 2006,
the party won no seats.
* https://www.google.com/search?q=Community%20participation%20definition

4. Craftsman*
1.a person who is skilled in a particular
craft.
synonyms: artisan, artist, skilled worker;
expert, master
* https://www.google.com/search?q=Craftsman+definition

5. Wisdom*
• “When there are many words,
transgression is unavoidable, But he who
restrains his lips is wise.” (Proverbs 10:19)
• “For the dream comes through much
effort and the voice of a fool through
many words.” (Ecclesiastes 5:3)
* All Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The
Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (http://www.Lockman.org)

6. Software Craftsmen
Ship!
With Quality

7. Object-Oriented
Manifesto
Everything is an Object
Send messages to them

8. Object-Oriented
Manifesto
Everything is an Object
Send messages to them
“Actually I made up the term
object-oriented, and I can tell you I did
not have C++ in mind.”
Alan Kay 1997 OOPSLA Keynote
“The Computer Revolution Hasn’t Happened Yet”

9. Patterns Manifesto
“...to use patterns in a generative way in the sense
that Christopher Alexander uses patterns for
urban planning and building architecture”*
* http://hillside.net/home/history

10. Patterns Manifesto
“...to use patterns in a generative way in the sense
that Christopher Alexander uses patterns for
urban planning and building architecture”*
* http://hillside.net/home/history
“The Accused, by distilling hard-won
design expertise into patterns, have
encouraged novices to act like
experts.”
OOPSLA 1999 Show Trial of the Gang of Four

11. * http://agilemanifesto.org/

12. * http://manifesto.softwarecraftsmanship.org

13. * http://manifesto.softwarecraftsmanship.org

14. * http://manifesto.softwarecraftsmanship.org

15. * http://manifesto.softwarecraftsmanship.org

16. * http://manifesto.softwarecraftsmanship.org

17. * http://manifesto.softwarecraftsmanship.org
GitHub & StackOverflow
Participation
≠
Well-crafted Software

18. * http://notonlyoo.org/

19. No More Manifestos*
“I believe this new face of agility has three simple
tenets, and doesn't need a manifesto at all:
1.Ship as often as possible.
2.Keep quality high.
3.Solicit and respond to feedback.”
- David Starr, “So Long and Thanks for the All the Manifestos”,Visual Studio Magazine
16 June 2013
* http://visualstudiomagazine.com/articles/2013/06/01/so-long-and-thanks-for-
the-all-the-manifestos.aspx

20. Two Points of Quality*
* http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?InternalAndExternalQuality

21. Two Points of Quality*
• External (Business/Customer facing)
• Correctness
• Effectiveness
* http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?InternalAndExternalQuality

22. Two Points of Quality*
• External (Business/Customer facing)
• Correctness
• Effectiveness
• Internal (Technologist facing)
• Software Asset leverage
• Customer benefit:
Maintainable/Extendable... cost effectiveness
* http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?InternalAndExternalQuality

23. Dartboards & Darts

24. Dartboards & Darts
• Every project
• Identify dartboard(s)
• Identify interested dart player(s)
• Build capable dart(s)

25. Dartboards & Darts
• Every project
• Identify dartboard(s)
• Identify interested dart player(s)
• Build capable dart(s)
Scenario(s)

26. Dartboards & Darts
• Every project
• Identify dartboard(s)
• Identify interested dart player(s)
• Build capable dart(s)
Scenario(s)
Persona(s)

27. Dartboards & Darts
• Every project
• Identify dartboard(s)
• Identify interested dart player(s)
• Build capable dart(s)
Scenario(s)
Persona(s)
Software Asset(s)

28. Dartboards & Darts
• Every project
• Identify dartboard(s)
• Identify interested dart player(s)
• Build capable dart(s)
• Validate and repeat until you have a
winning combination...
Scenario(s)
Persona(s)
Software Asset(s)

29. Dartboards & Darts
• Every project
• Identify dartboard(s)
• Identify interested dart player(s)
• Build capable dart(s)
• Validate and repeat until you have a
winning combination...
• ...or the money runs out
Scenario(s)
Persona(s)
Software Asset(s)

30. Business Facing Success

31. Business Facing Success
• Need a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to identify
potentially viable dartboards
• a dedicated SME or
• someone dedicated to becoming a SME

32. Business Facing Success
• Need a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to identify
potentially viable dartboards
• a dedicated SME or
• someone dedicated to becoming a SME
• Need User Feedback
• access to Users (various roles/personas)
• access to Potential Users

33. Business Facing Success
• Need a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to identify
potentially viable dartboards
• a dedicated SME or
• someone dedicated to becoming a SME
• Need User Feedback
• access to Users (various roles/personas)
• access to Potential Users
• A business model that works with the above

34. Internal Facing Success

35. Internal Facing Success
• We are the SMEs of Quality Code

36. Internal Facing Success
• We are the SMEs of Quality Code
• We are the Users

37. Internal Facing Success
• We are the SMEs of Quality Code
• We are the Users
• We need a model that works

38. Subject Matter
Experts?
What is an Expert?

39. * http://agilemanifesto.org/

40. * http://agilemanifesto.org/

41. Continuous Refinement of...
• Requirements
• Design
• Plan
• People
• Results
Potential Value!
?

42. eXtreme Programming
• code reviews => pair programming
• testing => 100% unit, tracking acceptance
• design => continuous refactoring
• simplicity => TSTTCPW, YAGNI, test-driven
• customer involvement => they drive
• integration => daily or more often
• short iterations => 1-4 week release cycle
• risk management => collective code ownership

43. TDD, Refactoring, Pairing +
Collective Code Ownership

44. TDD, Refactoring, Pairing +
Collective Code Ownership
• Achieve validated quality code

45. TDD, Refactoring, Pairing +
Collective Code Ownership
• Achieve validated quality code
• Shared learning

46. TDD, Refactoring, Pairing +
Collective Code Ownership
• Achieve validated quality code
• Shared learning
• In context

47. TDD, Refactoring, Pairing +
Collective Code Ownership
• Achieve validated quality code
• Shared learning
• In context
• For context

48. TDD, Refactoring, Pairing +
Collective Code Ownership
• Achieve validated quality code
• Shared learning
• In context
• For context
• Anyone(?) can keep it going forward
with quality

49. Reality of Internal Quality

50. Reality of Internal Quality
• Easy for anyone to slip in the name of expediency

51. Reality of Internal Quality
• Easy for anyone to slip in the name of expediency
• Make it run. Make it right. Make it fast. OR

52. Reality of Internal Quality
• Easy for anyone to slip in the name of expediency
• Make it run. Make it right. Make it fast. OR
• Make it run... fast enough?… Ship it.

53. Reality of Internal Quality
• Easy for anyone to slip in the name of expediency
• Make it run. Make it right. Make it fast. OR
• Make it run... fast enough?… Ship it.
• Make it right?

54. Reality of Internal Quality
• Easy for anyone to slip in the name of expediency
• Make it run. Make it right. Make it fast. OR
• Make it run... fast enough?… Ship it.
• Make it right?
• Limited by expertise of most skilled participant

55. Reality of Internal Quality
• Easy for anyone to slip in the name of expediency
• Make it run. Make it right. Make it fast. OR
• Make it run... fast enough?… Ship it.
• Make it right?
• Limited by expertise of most skilled participant
• Can increase by collaboration

56. Reality of Internal Quality
• Easy for anyone to slip in the name of expediency
• Make it run. Make it right. Make it fast. OR
• Make it run... fast enough?… Ship it.
• Make it right?
• Limited by expertise of most skilled participant
• Can increase by collaboration
• Two novices don’t produce the quality of
experts by pairing

57. Reality of Internal Quality
• Easy for anyone to slip in the name of expediency
• Make it run. Make it right. Make it fast. OR
• Make it run... fast enough?… Ship it.
• Make it right?
• Limited by expertise of most skilled participant
• Can increase by collaboration
• Two novices don’t produce the quality of
experts by pairing

58. Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition*
Rules Detached
Observer
Considers
Everything
Intuition
Relevant
Focus
Part of
System
Novice
Advanced Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
* http://litemind.com/expert-roadmap/

59. Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition*
Rules Detached
Observer
Considers
Everything
Intuition
Relevant
Focus
Part of
System
Novice
Advanced Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
Context Matters
* http://litemind.com/expert-roadmap/

60. Knowledge vs. Skill*
“There’s much more to mastering a skill than
just acquiring more knowledge. Just like adults
are not simply bigger children, experts are not
only smarter, more knowledgeable or faster
than novices.The differences can be found at a
more fundamental level, such as in how they
perceive the world and approach problems.”
- Luciano Passuello
* http://litemind.com/expert-roadmap/

61. To a Novice, an Advanced
Beginner looks like an Expert
“Have cheap people do easy things under the CLOSE
supervision of someone who knows the difference”
- Me, 2010 SCNA talk “Lean Craftsmanship vs. Corporate Craftsmanship”
“Have advanced beginners do tasks for which the rules
they know are appropriate to the context and check
their work. Let them watch, and have discussions
with, someone who has the appropriate skills for
the task when the advanced beginner does not”
- Me,Today, this talk

62. Learning in Context?

63. Learning in Context?
“The Religious Tradesman”
- Richard Steele
Excellent thoughts on business
Section on apprenticeship

64. Learning in Context?
“Situated Learning:
Legitimate Peripheral Participation”
- Jean Lave & Etienne Wenger
People learn by being there
Not out of sight of experts work
“The Religious Tradesman”
- Richard Steele
Excellent thoughts on business
Section on apprenticeship

65. Cost of Advanced
Beginners
Novice
Advanced Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
Clueless
Mostly “right”
Make it run... right?
All of us are Novices at some things...
Some may be experts in others...
Usually somewhere in between
Tools
TechniquesSkills
Domains
Languages

66. Cost of Advanced
Beginners
Novice
Advanced Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
Clueless
Mostly “right”
Make it run... right?
All of us are Novices at some things...
Some may be experts in others...
Usually somewhere in between
Tools
TechniquesSkills
Domains
Languages
Follow rules on well-defined tasks

67. Cost of Advanced
Beginners
Novice
Advanced Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
Clueless
Mostly “right”
Make it run... right?
All of us are Novices at some things...
Some may be experts in others...
Usually somewhere in between
Tools
TechniquesSkills
Domains
Languages
Follow rules on well-defined tasks
Complete similar tasks following rules

68. Cost of Advanced
Beginners
Novice
Advanced Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
Clueless
Mostly “right”
Make it run... right?
All of us are Novices at some things...
Some may be experts in others...
Usually somewhere in between
Tools
TechniquesSkills
Domains
Languages
Follow rules on well-defined tasks
Complete similar tasks following rules
Have conceptual models in which to operate

69. Cost of Advanced
Beginners
Novice
Advanced Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
Clueless
Mostly “right”
Make it run... right?
All of us are Novices at some things...
Some may be experts in others...
Usually somewhere in between
Tools
TechniquesSkills
Domains
Languages
Follow rules on well-defined tasks
Complete similar tasks following rules
Have conceptual models in which to operate
Have conceptual framework in which to adjust

70. Cost of Advanced
Beginners
Novice
Advanced Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
Clueless
Mostly “right”
Make it run... right?
All of us are Novices at some things...
Some may be experts in others...
Usually somewhere in between
Tools
TechniquesSkills
Domains
Languages
Follow rules on well-defined tasks
Complete similar tasks following rules
Have conceptual models in which to operate
Have conceptual framework in which to adjust
Intuitively identify and solve problems... it’s simple

71. Getting Past Advanced
Beginner
• “Proficient practitioners can
take full advantage of the
reflection and feedback that is
core to agile methods.”
– (“Pragmatic Thinking & Learning”,
Andrew Hunt, p.35)
• But how do you get there?
– Individual exercise?
– Team work?

72. High Performance Team in
Custom Software Development
Level Description
Dreyfus Model
plus experience
Master
Craftsman
Expert
>25,000 hours including
>10,000 in leadership
Sr.
Craftsman
Expert/Proficient,
>15,000 hours including
>3,000 in leadership
Craftsman Proficient, typically
>10,000 hours plus
proven leadership skills

73. High Performance Team in
Custom Software Development
Level Description
Dreyfus Model
plus experience
Master
Craftsman
Expert
>25,000 hours including
>10,000 in leadership
Sr.
Craftsman
Expert/Proficient,
>15,000 hours including
>3,000 in leadership
Craftsman Proficient, typically
>10,000 hours plus
proven leadership skills
Level Description
Dreyfus Model
plus experience
Sr.
Developer
/Designer
Competent to
Proficient, >8,000
hours OR >6,000 hours
plus leadership skills
Developer
/Designer
Competent, >5000
hours
Jr.
Developer
/Designer
Competent w/ some
holes in experience,
>2000 hours

74. High Performance Team in
Custom Software Development
Level Description
Dreyfus Model
plus experience
Master
Craftsman
Expert
>25,000 hours including
>10,000 in leadership
Sr.
Craftsman
Expert/Proficient,
>15,000 hours including
>3,000 in leadership
Craftsman Proficient, typically
>10,000 hours plus
proven leadership skills
Level Description
Dreyfus Model
plus experience
Sr.
Developer
/Designer
Competent to
Proficient, >8,000
hours OR >6,000 hours
plus leadership skills
Developer
/Designer
Competent, >5000
hours
Jr.
Developer
/Designer
Competent w/ some
holes in experience,
>2000 hours
Level Description
Dreyfus Model
plus experience
Sr.
Resident
Developer/
Designer
Advanced Beginner
with Competence in
areas, Craftsmanship
Academy >1500 hours
Resident
Developer/
Designer
Advanced Beginner
with Competence in
areas, Craftsmanship
Academy >1000 hours
Apprentice
Developer/
Designer
Advanced Beginner,
Craftsmanship Academy
>500 hours
Novice
Developer/
Designer
Novice, in Craftsmanship
Academy, <500 hours

75. RoleModel
Internal Quality Goals

76. RoleModel
Internal Quality Goals
• Proficient level code is the minimum
acceptable

77. RoleModel
Internal Quality Goals
• Proficient level code is the minimum
acceptable
• Craftsman level code is the goal

78. RoleModel
Internal Quality Goals
• Proficient level code is the minimum
acceptable
• Craftsman level code is the goal
• But how do we keep it at that level
when others are on the project?

79. Two Sets of Eyes
on all production code
The RoleModel Standard for Internal Quality...
A reminder that we care about “Make it Right”
AND
“Helping Others Learn the Craft”

80. Two Sets of Eyes

81. Two Sets of Eyes
• In a project

82. Two Sets of Eyes
• In a project
• Craftsmanship level will rarely be achieved without a
Craftsman

83. Two Sets of Eyes
• In a project
• Craftsmanship level will rarely be achieved without a
Craftsman
• Typically, will only rise to “Highest Skill Level” on the
project

84. Two Sets of Eyes
• In a project
• Craftsmanship level will rarely be achieved without a
Craftsman
• Typically, will only rise to “Highest Skill Level” on the
project
• Across projects

85. Two Sets of Eyes
• In a project
• Craftsmanship level will rarely be achieved without a
Craftsman
• Typically, will only rise to “Highest Skill Level” on the
project
• Across projects
• Can benefit from Higher Skill Level input

86. Two Sets of Eyes
• In a project
• Craftsmanship level will rarely be achieved without a
Craftsman
• Typically, will only rise to “Highest Skill Level” on the
project
• Across projects
• Can benefit from Higher Skill Level input
• “How did/would you do _______ in the context of
_____?”

87. Effective Communication?*
* Graph taken from
Alistair Cockburn,“Agile Software Development”,Addison-Wesley 2002

88. Effective Communication?*
Github,
StackOverflow
Podcast
Destroy All Software,
RailsCasts, ...
* Graph taken from
Alistair Cockburn,“Agile Software Development”,Addison-Wesley 2002

89. Effective Communication?*
Github,
StackOverflow
Podcast
Destroy All Software,
RailsCasts, ...
* Graph taken from
Alistair Cockburn,“Agile Software Development”,Addison-Wesley 2002
Books, Blogs

90. Effective Skills Transfer

91. Effective Skills Transfer
Async Pull
Requests

92. Effective Skills Transfer
Async Pull
Requests
Synchronous
Pull Requests

93. Effective Skills Transfer
Async Pull
Requests
Synchronous
Pull Requests
Pair Refactoring
or Rewriting

94. Effective Skills Transfer
Async Pull
Requests
Synchronous
Pull Requests
Pair Refactoring
or Rewriting
Opportunistic
Pairing

95. Effective Skills Transfer
Async Pull
Requests
Synchronous
Pull Requests
Pair Refactoring
or Rewriting
Opportunistic
Pairing
Pair
Programming

96. Effective Skills Transfer
Async Pull
Requests
Synchronous
Pull Requests
Pair Refactoring
or Rewriting
Opportunistic
Pairing
Pair
Programming
Code outLoud!

97. Effective Skills Transfer
Async Pull
Requests
Synchronous
Pull Requests
Pair Refactoring
or Rewriting
Opportunistic
Pairing
Pair
Programming
Code outLoud!
Individual
Code
Deployed

98. Acceptable Methods
• Pair Programming
• Opportunistic Pairing
• Pair Refactoring/Rewriting
• Synchronous pull requests
• Asynchronous pull requests
Hot
High Skill
Transfer
Cold Low Skill
Transfer

99. Exceptions?

100. Exceptions?
• Short answer is “NEVER”

101. Exceptions?
• Short answer is “NEVER”
• Real answer is “Rarely” and
“Temporarily”
• Fixing a production problem at night
• Craftsman working by himself on
least complex code
• Prototype for demo

102. What Do We Look For?
• Intention Revealing names
• DRY code
• Single (or appropriate)
Responsibility
• Least amount of “state”
possible
• Tests (well-factored with
reasonable edge cases)
• Simple abstractions
• Appropriate use of patterns
• Consistent, readable
structure
• Good OO practices
• instances vs. globals
• appropriate composition
and inheritance
• Follows appropriate idioms
• Appropriate use of 3rd party
code (assets are liabilities)

103. Other Rules of Thumb

104. Other Rules of Thumb
• Don’t use the same reviewer all the time

105. Other Rules of Thumb
• Don’t use the same reviewer all the time
• Cross projects when possible/
reasonable

106. Other Rules of Thumb
• Don’t use the same reviewer all the time
• Cross projects when possible/
reasonable
• Goal is to raise the bar, not to win an
argument
• Thick skin
• Tender heart

107. Humble Yourself
• You are probably somewhere between a Novice and
Proficient in most things you do
• Find someone better (or potentially better) than you
• Find someone who can learn from you
• If you are an expert, find something else to do that takes
you out of your comfortable context(s)
• Don’t stop reading, but seek more collaboration
• If you work alone, collaborate more often
• Encourage others to raise the bar

108. Are You an Aspiring
Software Craftsman?
• Our Craftsmanship Academy is one way
• next entrance in June
• Immersion Phase - 14-16 weeks -
foundation laid and reinforced
• Apprenticeship follows
• But…
* http://craftsmanshipacademy.com

109. Take Charge
• You have work to do
• Do it well
• No one is stopping you
• Ask your boss, “do you
want us to get better at
software development, or
just get better at stand-up
meetings”?

110. Software Craftsmen
Ship!
With Quality

111. Software Craftsmen
Ship!
With Quality
Raise The Bar!

112. Dreyfus Model
References
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Dreyfus_model_of_skill_acquisition
• http://1.usa.gov/1iOLuWC - Dreyfus, Stuart E.;
Dreyfus, Hubert L. (February 1980), A Five-Stage
Model of the Mental Activities Involved in Directed
Skill Acquisition
• http://bit.ly/1fU3aLn - Benner, Patricia (2004), Using
the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition to Describe
and Interpret Skill Acquisition and Clinical
Judgment in Nursing Practice and Education