I Love Craftsmanship

I love the word "craftsman."

This word isn't anything new--to the contrary, you've heard it in everything from medieval guilds to most of the tools in my garage.  It has connotations of quality, creativity and professionalism.

But, I have only recently started to hear it being used relative to technical workers.  The first time I heard it used with respect to engineers was 15 years ago from an old boss of mine.  He is a brilliant engineer--built a whole company of developers who go around solving problems few in the world can.  He talked about craftsmanship just like an artisan would.  And he was exactly right--good workers ARE craftsman.

So, what does it actually mean?
A few years ago, a group of software folks came out with the Manifesto of Software Craftsmanship (these guys really like their "Manifestos").  I heard one of the guys who created this speak last year and he said that they created this in response to people's use of the Agile Manifesto (another one!  told you they liked these...).
While I think this originates as a bunch of consultant gobble-tee-gook, I think their message is sound.  I'm making their message more generic, because it fits most things we do:

1. Not only working solutions, but also well-crafted solutions
2. Not only responding to change, but steadily adding value
3. Not only individuals and interactions but also a community of professionals
4. Not only customer collaboration but also productive partnerships

Craftsmanship is about putting in the tongue-and-grove when nails would work.

Craftsmanship is about addressing the problems with the system when all anyone will thank you for is addressing the symptoms.

Craftsmanship is about making life easier for the next person to maintain your stuff.

Craftsmanship is about creating a world where your customer experiences small delights from being surprised by exceptional quality.

We spend so much time focused on the mission mode of user experiences--and that's important.   But, imagine what it would be like if we dedicated a proportional amount of time creating areas where our customers can appreciate HOW we created something as much as WHAT we've created.