Each week, I share one insight. One piece of wisdom. One question to reflect on. (and a little Lagniappe)
Insight
Martial artists have been practicing katas for centuries: solo forms, repeated until the movements become muscle memory.
Dave Thomas brought the idea to code. Mark Richards and Neal Ford brought it to software architecture in Fundamentals of Software Architecture.
What I love about katas is that they are disciplined play with a purpose.
The engineers who run katas develop astute judgment. The org that makes space for katas gets better outcomes.
Wisdom
It is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Reflection
Does your team practice katas to sharpen their craft?
Lagniappe
- Such a fun exploration of SSL/TLS and security theatre - No one can force Tom7/Suckerpinch to have a secure website!!!
- This week on Book Overflow: Software Architecture: The Hard Parts - Part 2. Neal Ford and Mark Richards again, this time on the trade-offs that bite you in practice.
- For the foundations, we also reviewed Fundamentals of Software Architecture on Book Overflow: part 1 and part 2. And the author interviews: Neal Ford and Mark Richards.
- Debug Mode is this Thursday - April 23rd at 11AM Central. Free monthly platform engineering office hours on YouTube Live.
- As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Reply and let me know what resonates.
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