A manifesto for making stuff with software
Making stuff with software is at the heart of so much change and opportunity in all walks of life. It is a complex process, and doing it well is part art, part science.
Around twenty years ago some very smart folk gathered and created the Agile Manifesto for Software Development, with the opening line: we are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it.
Around twenty plus something years ago, I started making stuff with software, defining, analysing, coding, testing and supporting stuff.
I’ve read a lot about making stuff with software. I’ve been on the agile journey, including getting some big A certifications. I know just enough to be dangerous, and also occasionally useful.
On my journey I’ve found that at the heart of success there is a always a great team of people working hard to make stuff, and, yes, finding better ways to do it.
I thought I’d reflect on what I’ve learnt about making stuff with software, and distill it to what I think is important.
Why a manifesto? I’m hugely appreciative and admiring of the people who wrote the agile manifesto, and have taken far more from others than I have given. This is part of my attempt to balance the ledgers and help others.
Seek clarity of purpose and values
- When the team is clear about why you are making something, you and your team mates will find it much easier to make decisions.
- When the team is clear about what you value, you and your team mates will find it much easier to find each other and keep each other on the right track.
Balance alignment, autonomy and accountability
- A team aligned on purpose and values will head in the same direction.
- People with autonomy will do great things, often more than you would expect.
- When everyone holds each other accountable in a robust and supportive way, you will highly likely get the right outcome.
Seek frequent Customer feedback
- How else will you know if you are building the right thing?
- Treat it seriously and critically
Pursue technical mastery
- Software development is a creative process, but should come with the rigour that engineering disciplines require.
- Take calculated risks to get early customer feedback, do it consciously and fix it up as soon as possible — remember that refactoring is a cost of agility.
- Automate, automate, automate.
Recognise that small is beautiful
- The more moving parts you have, the more complex something is, and the more likely you are to find unexpected behaviour.
- This applies across all dimensions… teams, scope, budgets, plans, iterations, releases…
- Having said that, your dreams and visions should be big.
Build and protect a culture of psychological safety and trust
- People are at their best when they are free to be themselves and express themselves.
- People are at their best when they are not under undue pressure.
- An organisation moves at the speed of trust.
Lean into Lean
- Muda, Mura, Muri — seek balance to attain flow
I’ve generally abstracted principles away from Frameworks (TM) and named systems, but make an exception for Lean, which is a genuinely practical way to inspect and optimise your processes (personal shill time – read more about using lean).
Acknowledge that you don’t have a crystal ball
- Death, taxes and uncertainty… any plan you make will bend or break when it encounters reality.
- The intellectual honesty about this uncertainty builds trust and focuses the mind on what’s most important.
Be generous
- You are standing on the shoulders of giants, share your learnings, your successes and failures, and help the next person up.
This manifesto is not perfect, but I’m shipping it now, and seeking feedback.
What would you add or takeaway or tweak? What will I learn next week that means I need to update my manifesto?
