The Software Craftsman

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Abstract of the book "The Software Craftsman" from Sandro Mancuso
I really loved this great book from Sandro Mancuso. 
Infography
I love this book so much that I have created an infography : 
The Software Craftsman Infographic
The Software Craftsman.pdf
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The Software Craftsman infography
Book notes
Introduction 
Good senior developer in the 90's : No one else can understand his code 
Working code 
The minimum for a professional 
How it is done is as important as getting it done 
Is
A mindset 
For developers
For companies 
Adoption of (XP) 
Practices 
Disciplines 
Not a methodology
Ideology
A new reality
What modern developers do :
Coding (But not only)
Speak to customers 
Automate tests/deployment 
Make technical choices 
Work in distributed teams 
Help clients to define and prioritize requirements 
Present products to potential clients/partners 
Help with pre-sales activities 
Estimate time & costs 
Interview new team members 
Design and evolve software architecture 
Understand business goals 
Make decisions based on trade-offs 
Keep an eye on new technologies/methodologies 
...
With agile methodologies, mentality is evolving. More collaboration and dev are now more proud to be dev
Agile 
2 types of disciplines
Process oriented (Value)
Plan 
Measure velocity 
Roles people should play 
Meetings 
... 
Technical Oriented 
TDD 
Continuous integration 
... 
Agility is about building the right thing, Craftsmanship is about building the thing right 
"Craftsmanship over crap", Robert C. Martin (2008) 
Team = responsible of the realization (all aspects) 
Being good at writing code is the minimum skill expected from software professionals"
Why do agile transformations fail ? 
In software project 
Most important deliverable = software itself 
Change their process through coaching 
Nothing to help writing better software 
Agile coaches 
Mainly focused on process 
Not focused on technical excellence
Abstract
To remain competitive companies need to deliver
Software faster 
With better quality 
Agile vs software craftsmanship 
Agile 
Adopting Scrum 
Daily stand-up 
Manage backlog 
Manage W.I.P 
Agility does not 
Improve magically the quality of the software 
Make developers better 
Complements each other / need to be focused on both 
Improve the process 
Improve technical excellence
The Manifesto for Software Craftsmanship (2008)
4 values
Not only working software, but also well-crafted software
Think about a software 
Without 
Tests 
Team to explain code 
You have to maintain and develop on it 
It is a working software... 
Reasons of failures 
Bad business strategy 
Bad project management 
Big Time To Market Organization do not pay attention to code quality 
Well-crafted 
Automated tests 
TDD
Business language in code 
Simple design 
Quality of the code 
Only visible by dev 
No time allowed to refactor 
Quality of the code may not guarantee the success of a project But can be the main cause of failure.
Not only responding to change, but also steadily adding value
Not just
Adding new features 
Fixing bugs 
BUT also 
Improve constantly structure of the code
Keep it clean 
Testable
Extendable
Change must be fast enough 
High Quality Software
Not only individuals and interactions, but also a community of professionals
Sharing 
Knowledge 
Ideas
Successes and failures 
Humility
Learning from each others 
Mentoring
Prepare the next generation 
Craftsmen want to work with
Passionates 
Inspiring professionals

Not only customer collaboration, but also productive partnerships
Productive partnerships
Not only do what you are told to do
Not factory workers 
Passionate & talented people want 
Success
Successful projects 
We must help our clients
Some clients are not ready 
Software development = industrial process 
Developer have to follow orders 
Recrute cheaper devs 
Will not listen devs Tech leads = outdated people 
Very difficult environment for craftsman
Software Craftsman
Believes that 
Software is a craft 
Writing good software requires 
Skill 
Careful attention 
Practices his craft 
To become more skillful 
To produce better software 
A professional 
Work is consistently of high quality
Goal of the manifesto
Reduce the gap between Agile methodologies Technical world
Definition
Is NOT
Beautiful code 
Test Driven Development 
Self selected group of people 
Specific technologies/methodologies 
Certifications 
Religion
Mindset 
Consider software dev as a craft 
A long journey to mastery 
Choose to be responsible for their own careers 
Constant learning 
Tools 
Techniques 
Key words 
Responsibility
Professionalism
Pragmatism
Pride 
Learning from others 
Share knowledge
Caring about what they do 
Help customers
Attitude
Constantly finding ways to become better professional 
Continuous learning
"Who owns your career ?" 
What if our company 
Does not buy any books 
Never sent us to any training course or conferences 
Does that mean the company is bad ? 
Ourselves
We are professionals
We own our careers 
We must keep us up to date 
Books 
Tech specific 
Conceptual 
Behavorial 
Revolutionary
Blogs 
Tech websites 
Social medias
Practice, practice, practice
The more we practice, the more comfortable we become 
Katas 
Simple coding exercices 
To practice 
Techniques/approaches 
Languages 
Technologies 
Pet projects 
Real projects 
Without pressure 
You choose technologies & methodologies 
Open source 
Contributes to projects 
Pair program 
Enhances team spirit 
Social activity 
Knowledge sharing 
Open minds 
Learn 
Share
Or both 
Discovery 
Second level of ignorance 
I don't know what I don't know 
Accept the fact that we have a lot to learn 
Sign of maturity 
A first step to mastery
Share
"I'm the smartest man in Athens because I know that I know nothing" - Socrates
Abstract
Essential to a successful career 
Determination 
Passion
The day we stop learning & practicing 
The day we start losing control of our own careers 
Focus 
Becoming better professionals 
Not on "how do I get my promotion/bonus" 
Peter's principle : "Only incompetent people are scared to lose their job"
Technical Practices
For building the right thing :
Feedback loops 
Visualizing WIP 
Backlogs 
Stand ups 
User Stories 
Acceptance criteria 
Definitions : Ready / Done
For building the thing right ?
How do I sell tech practices ? 
Focus on the benefits 
Better understanding of requirements 
Knowledge sharing 
Reduction of bugs 
Quick & automated releases
Be pragmatic 
Always a better way 
Decide your practices 
To answer a need 
Not because someone says to 
Compare values between practices