Aristotle and the Art of Software Development (Agile 2009)

Aristotle and the art of software development

Jonathan Dahl

http://tumblon.com (work)http://zencoder.tv (product)http://railspikes.com (blog)

Friday, September 18, 2009

http://tumblon.com

http://tumblon.com

http://zencoder.tv

http://zencoder.tv

http://railspikes.com


Or: what does Athens have to do with Silicon Valley?

Jonathan Dahl

http://tumblon.com (work)http://zencoder.tv (product)http://railspikes.com (blog)


http://tumblon.com

http://tumblon.com

http://zencoder.tv

http://zencoder.tv



Athens Silicon ValleyFriday, September 18, 2009

Ethics.


G


PG


PG-13


R


Ethics.


What makes a good programmer?


Act - Effect

Anatomy of an action

Actor


Deontology (Kant)

Act - Effect

Actor


Utilitarianism (Mill)

Act - Effect

Actor


Virtue (Aristotle)

Act - Effect

Actor


Downsides


Symptoms


What kind of Agile?


What language?


Immanuel Kant


Königsberg


deontologyduty


Principles


Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that

it should become a universal law

Categorical Imperative


Deontological software development


Don’t Repeat Yourself100% Test CoverageWrite readable code


Act - Effect

Actor


Process - Outcome

Participants


Determine the right process


(Determine the right principles)


Stick to the rules


“You have to follow every aspect of the process for it to work”


Follow the rules, even when you don’t think you’ll like the outcome


“This is just the way things are done”


Ever-growing rules


1.User stories are written.2.Release planning creates the schedule.3.Make frequent small releases.4.The Project Velocity is measured.5.The project is divided into iterations.6.Iteration planning starts each iteration.7.Move people around.8.A stand-up meeting starts each day.9.Fix XP when it breaks.10.Simplicity.11.Choose a system metaphor.12.Use CRC cards for design sessions.13.Create spike solutions to reduce risk.14.No functionality is added early.15.Refactor whenever and wherever possible.

16.The customer is always available.17.Code must be written to agreed standards.18.Code the unit test first.19.All production code is pair programmed.20.Only one pair integrates code at a time.21.Integrate often.22.Use collective code ownership.23.Leave optimization till last.24.No overtime.25.All code must have unit tests.26.All code must pass all unit tests before it can be released.27.When a bug is found tests are created.28.Acceptance tests are run often and the score is published.

XP Rules


Don’t Repeat Yourself

Write clear, understandable code


development: adapter: mysql encoding: utf8 database: app_development username: root password:

test: adapter: mysql encoding: utf8 database: app_test username: root password:

production: adapter: mysql encoding: utf8 database: app_production username: user password: password


standard: adapter: mysql encoding: utf8 local: username: root password: development: <<: *standard <<: *local database: app_development

test: <<: *standard <<: *local database: app_test

production: <<: *standard database: app_production username: user password: password


<% local_password = "" -%><% local_user = "root" -%><% [{:name => "development", :user => local_user, :password => local_password}, {:name => "test", :user => local_user, :password => local_password}, {:name => "production", :user => "user", :password => "password"} ].each do |environment| -%><%= environment[:name] %> adapter: mysql encoding: utf8 database: app_<%= environment[:name] %> username: <%= environment[:user] %> password: <%= environment[:password] %><% end -%>


What kind of agile?


Certification


John Stuart Mill


John Stuart Mill

Opposed slaveryFavored women’s suffrageFree markets(...with proper regulation)Animal rights Environmentalism


...way before these things were cool

Opposed slaveryFavored women’s suffrageFree markets(...with proper regulation)Animal rights Environmentalism

John Stuart Mill


Utilitarianism


Greatest good for the greatest number


The ends justify the means


Utilitariansoftware development


Act - Effect

Actor


Process - Outcome

Participants


Driven by experience


Ad hoc


Results-oriented


Willing to compromise


“Just get it done”


“Doesn’t have to be pretty”


Short term vs. long term


What kind of agile?


No Process


Lisp vs. Perl


Act - Effect

Actor


Philosophy


PhilosophyEthics


PhilosophyEthicsPolitics


PhilosophyEthicsPoliticsRhetoric



Aesthetics



AestheticsPsychology




Biology




BiologyPhysics




BiologyPhysics

Astronomy




BiologyPhysics

AstronomyEconomics




BiologyPhysics

AstronomyEconomics

Logic


(practical) wisdom


(practical) wisdom

aiming at virtues


combined with moral strength

(practical) wisdom

aiming at virtues


leading to happiness


(practical) wisdom

aiming at virtues


(practical) wisdom


aiming atvirtues


CourageTemperance

PrideGenerosity

Good temperTruthfulness

WitFriendliness

ModestyRighteous Indignation


Excess (too much) Virtue (just right) Defect (too little)Rashness Courage Cowardice

Temperance

Pride

Generosity

Good temper

Truthfulness

Wit

Friendliness

ModestyRighteous Indignation


Excess (too much) Virtue (just right) Defect (too little)Rashness Courage Cowardice

Indulgence Temperance InsensibilityVanity Pride Lack of ambition

Prodigality Generosity IlliberalityIrascability Good temper Lack of spirit

Boastfulness Truthfulness False ModestyBuffoonery Wit Boorishness

Obsequiousness Friendliness CantankerousnessShyness Modesty Shamelessness

EnvyRighteous Indignation

Spitefulness


leading to happiness


modeling


practice


bootstrapping


Downsides


Virtue-basedsoftware development


Act - Effect

Actor


Process - Outcome

Participants


Education and training


Pride


Sane work schedules


Empower developers


Mentoring


Right people -> right outcomes


What kind of agile?


Natural


Empower programmers


Self-effacing


Pleasant to write


Happy and virtuous


virtues, not rules


virtues, not rulesmoderation, not excess


virtues, not rulesmoderation, not excessjudgment, not process


virtues, not rulesmoderation, not excessjudgment, not processwhole of life


virtues, not rulesmoderation, not excessjudgment, not processwhole of lifehappiness


Thanks!

Slides at:http://railspikes.com

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics




Aristotle and the Art of Software Development (Agile 2009)

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Transcript of Aristotle and the Art of Software Development (Agile 2009)