Doing Things Properly

I’m a little prim and proper. In that I like to do things properly. And I find comfort and fellow-feeling in seeing others doing things properly, too. Some have suggested this looks a tad OCD-ish.

What is “properly”?

For me, “properly” means with intentionality, deliberateness, and a modicum of tidiness.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

~ Aristotle

Doing Software Development “Properly”

As regards software development, some folks conflate “properly” with some specific approach (waterfall, Agile, software engineering, software craftsmanship, w.h.y.). As if there’s “One True Way” and all other approaches are the work of the devil.

I choose to eschew faith and dogma, and focus on what works. Where “works” means “meets the aggregate and individual needs of the Folks That Matter™”.

“What works” can vary – depending on a multitude of more or less regularly changing variables. (Implication: the approach must be as flexible as the dynamics of these variables).

And then there’s all those folks for whom “doing things properly” offers zero attraction. Pirsig guesstimated that these folks number around 85% of the species (Cf. Classical vs Romantic understanding).

How do you feel about doing things properly? And the folks around you?

– Bob

Further Reading

Pirsig, R.M. (1980). Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values. Bantam Books.