David’s entry starts by giving us a glimpse of craftsmanship outside our craft, talking about Sauder, Maloof, O’Sullivan and Stickley, four remarkable furniture craftsmen. He uses these four woodworkers to explain that Software Craftsmanship is not about the companies that adhere to it, but about the individuals who craft.

I think that in a way he is right. Our customers remember our names, the people who crafted their products and the relationship we have build with them over time. Our company is just the frame in which excellent people come to work together as a team to reach this goal.

Further into his entry David asserts that craftsmen are passionate about what they do and try to find ways to improve their techniques and toolset. Many people do so (maybe not as many as they should), but, as he explains further a craftsman makes sure he passes his knowledge on to his apprentices, enabling therefore the evolution of our craft.

I do agree with this statement. A craftsman is not only trying to improve himself and his craft, he also shares his knowledge and passes it on to other aspiring craftsmen willing to learn and move the craft forward.

Are you sharing what you learn? Are you seeking the advice from people who know more than you?

What I personally like about his story is the message Kerry sends (indirectly) to the developers out there who are not working in an environment where caring about the craft and continuous improvement are part of the day to day.

What I really like though about his entry is his reminder to look outside your companies boundaries and search inspiration and knowledge from other people.

There are many wise people out there from whom you can learn an awful lot!

Who’s code have you studied recently? What new techniques have you discovered?

What have you made recently?

He rightly asks us what we have made, what we have learned by doing so and what is the next thing we are going to build.

Ade's entry in The Wandering Book

There is one thing in his entry though that really made me nod and be totally in tune. He talks about generative communities; groups of people with overlapping values that, together, create things that interact with the physical world (conferences, software, articles, devices, etc).

Having said that, I am working on this problem for a couple of months now, trying to find a way to give back to my community (here in Winchester) and enable the growth of other people; either in terms of software development (teaching how to build software) or by infecting them with goodness and the will to help each other.

Although sharing is a very good form of exploring your idea and making it happen you should beware of one group of people that will break your idea and kill it before it comes to life.

I am talking about the people who are not interested in your fantastic idea! People who are not interested in the idea, pissed off by it being a great idea, people who don’t share during the session, lower the morale of the group trying to build and explore a great idea significantly. Eventually you will drop the idea discouraged by the feedback (or the lack of it) you received.

Next time you have a great idea drop this types and run with your idea, the spark of innovation might be right there waiting for you!

In his entry he states:

There are ideas but there aren’t rules. Craftsmanship is an introspective process with an emphasis on building quality and value, but the discipline is up to you.

The thought of having different disciplines in different studios/workshops helps to create an environment where new ways of crafting great software can be learned. I would call that schools of practice (or thought).

Every studio/workshop has it’s unique approach to building their software, interacting with their customers, etc.

I was thinking about this last year, and I was pondering with the idea of creating an event inviting different craftsmanship studios/workshops to gather together and share their way with the other studios present. This way we could be able to learn from each other all sorts of techniques (from coding practices, billing techniques, customer collaboration, and a long etc).

The idea is still in my head, and I would love to make it happen anytime soon (maybe by the end of this year). Would you and your workshop/studio attend to such an event?

In his entry in The Wandering Book, Gustin, describes his thoughts on the Craft of Software. I was very pleased to read his entry and see that he, like many others, has created a culture of betterment around him, trying to nurture the environment around him with energy and his values.

I loved though one particular part of his entry:

A software crafter is often on the verge of obsession. Craftsmanship is caring enough to change the little things that may not be noticeable to a customer, whether it is for aesthetic reasons or for the future maintenance of code. It is the forethought toward the future evolution of market, client, and software.

Moreover Gustin has been the first person to write on (and have the courage) more than 2 pages on The Wandering Book which actually pleases me as we can see the brilliant result!

Here you can see Gustin’s original entry in The Wandering Book, or you can read it on his personal blog as well.

Doug Bradbury's entry in the Wandering Book

I love the point he makes about software development being physical;

The learning must get into your bones and muscles for it to be of use to you

One thing that most forget is, as Doug reiterates in his entry, that you need to practice your coding skills in order to become better.

Knowledge will only bring you as far, but practice will let your knowledge sink in and you will become better at what you do.

Enrique

The abstract of his talk reads as follows:

Many – maybe all – of the ideas and practices being paraded under the banner of “Software Craftsmanship” are far from new. Skill, knowledge, expertise, pride in work are fundamentals of any creative endeavour: their re-packaging, and associated manifestos, positioning, posturing and advocacy, is building walls between developers, organisations and customers that we’ve been trying to break down for the last two decades. This talk will explore the contrarian position that craftsmanship is not enough, and that Software Craftsmanship is at best a distraction, at worst a danger.

The talk was mentioned by Jason Gorman on the Software Craftsmanship Google Group and had some ripple effect in the mailing list.

Personally I am not adverse to this kind of reactions. We have seen the same type of reactions in the early XP mailing list, heard the same comments about Agile Software Development till it all became mainstream. It is normal that some people feel the way they feel when it comes to changes.

One thing that struck me though is the sensation that the people who believe in Software as a Craft, also known Software Craftsmanship, are building walls around them.

What strikes me here is that the people that regard themselves as Software Craftsmen, or let me rephrase this, the Software Craftsmen I know, are very helpful and always try to help others, sharing coding exercisesand share their experiences.

Heck some of the companies even go through the hardships of making Apprenticeship Programs in order to mentor their staff. Something that is a major investment for any company in time and money.

In this past year I have seen the communication between developers multiply, each trying to help one another with ideas, pointers (not the C type), sharing code, and even agreeing to mentor.

Software Craftsmanship is definitely not about building walls, rather we knock the walls that are here at the moment to build bridges that bring us closer together.

Enrique

Micah's Wandering Book Entry

As you can see yourself he used a wonderful font for writing his entry, but above all he challenges the reader with a thought…

Can there exist Master Craftsman who knows only software?

I leave the answer to yourself, but I can only agree with him.

Enrique

Eden Development is lead by Chris Parsons, a very passionate craftsman whom I really appreciate, not only as a craftsman but as a friend as well.

This does not mean that NexWerk as such does not exist anymore; NexWerk is still my place where I will be muse about the craft, but mainly things about The Wandering Book and other software craftsmanship related things that are not necessarily in direct connection with Eden Development.

We are currently settling into our new workshop and we are all very excited about that. You will be able to read about it on the Eden Development web site.

I am also taking on new apprentices at Eden, which is a very exciting new challenge. You will be able to read their blogs about their apprenticeship and any other related things in the Eden Development website soon (you’ll have to be patient as we are overhauling it at the moment).

Another thing that has been going on this weeks (months I could say already) is the setup of Katacast, a place where craftsmen will share katas with a broader audience. If you have any kata that you would like to share don’t hesitate to communicate either to Corey Haines or to myself.

The Wandering Book is still on the road, and as far as I can pinpoint it on its way to Micah Martin. I hope it reaches there soon so that we all can enjoy the new pages he will add to it with his words of wisdom.

I hope to be able to post more often, so watch this space!