When I first read this article I was taken aback. As I thought about it, I think I agree for the most part anyway. I found the article on Coding Horror and his thoughts about it as well.

One of the guys that I work with had the following well though out comments:

I like how they use the term “Craftsman” to describe what we do.  It actually makes me think, if I were a knight getting ready to invade some castle in the dark ages, would I buy armor from an “Engineer” or a “Craftsman”?  Sure I would expect it to have been designed at some point by an engineer, but designs are re-usable.  I would think that occasionally someone would come back from wearing a similar, earlier design with specific flaws and maybe have things re-designed by engineers, and those tweaks perfected through practice and applied to other designs.  When it comes down to it, those designs and tweaks become patterns and practices.  I want my plate folded and shaped by a craftsman who knows those things, but more importantly, how to work with the tools and the different types of metal.  One who’s reputation, and thus livelihood, hinged not on how sound a design it was but rather on how well it was executed.  One who is meticulous and makes sure no impurities make their way to the critical pieces, making them prone to shatter or crack.

I don’t believe “Software Engineering” is dead, but I wouldn’t want to buy a piece of software from a shop full of them.  In theory, they might solve every aspect of the design perfectly, but in reality, it would only work perfect in IE 5.5.3216 running Java 3.2.439.  Data integrity might be protected, but how about the user experience.  The ones I want writing software for me are the ones that take pride in the experience their software provides and make sure its practical and usable.  The ones who have taken the time to master the tools that have been made available to them to assist in their craft.

You get the idea.

~Jeff

Tom Demarco’s article is here

Related posts:

1. Craftsmanship and Software Development
2. Why Do We Need Software Architects?
3. Using Rational XDE with Visual Studio .Net