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The Ten Commandments of Egoless Programming

Programming, like writing or creating art, is a very personal endeavor, and, like

artists, some of us just can't stomach it when someone else disparages our work.

Part state of mind and part QA philosophy, the term "Egoless programming" was

coined y Jerry Weinberg, ack in !#! in his highly influential ook, The

Psychology of Computer Programming.

!. Understand and accept that you will make mistakes.$hepoint is to

find them early, efore they make it into production. %ortunately, e&cept for

the few of us developing rocket guidance software at P(, mistakes are

rarely fatal in our industry, so we can, and should, learn, laugh, and move

on.

). Youre not your code.*ememer that the entire point of a review is to

find prolems, and prolems will e found. +ont take it personally when

one is uncovered.

-. !o matter how much "karate" you know# someone else will always

know more.uch an individual can teach you some new moves if you

ask. eek and accept input from others, especially when you think it's not

needed.

/. $ont rewrite code without consultation. $here's a fine line etween

"fi&ing code" and "rewriting code." 0now the difference, and pursue

stylistic changes within the framework of a code review, not as a lone

enforcer.

1. Treat people who know less than you with respect# deference# and

patience.2on technical people who deal with developers on a regular

asis almost universally hold the opinion that we are prima donnas at estand cryaies at worst. +on't reinforce this stereotype with anger and

impatience.

3. The only constant in the world is change.4e open to it and accept it

with a smile. (ook at each change to your re5uirements, platform, or tool

as a new challenge, not as some serious inconvenience to e fought.

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#. The only true authority stems from knowledge# not from position.

0nowledge engenders authority, and authority engenders respect 66 so if

you want respect in an egoless environment, cultivate knowledge.

7. %ight for what you belie&e# but gracefully accept defeat. 8nderstandthat sometimes your ideas will e overruled. Even if you do turn out to e

right, dont take revenge or say, "9 told you so" more than a few times at

most, and dont make your dearly departed idea a martyr or rallying cry.

. $ont be "the guy in the room.'+ont e the guy coding in the dark

office emerging only to uy cola. $he guy in the room is out of touch, out

of sight, and out of control and has no place in an open, collaorative

environment.

!:. Criti(ue code instead of people))be kind to the coder# not to the

code.As much as possile, make all of your comments positive and

oriented to improving the code. *elate comments to local standards,

program specs, increased performance, etc.

Takeaway* +n a team)based de&elopment en&ironment# egoless

programming is a necessity. The human principles of software are truly

timeless, The Psychology of Computer Programming was written way back

in -/-. 0ow can this still be rele&ant1 Easy* People ha&en2t reallychanged.