Minimalism in Software Development
Less is more
The "minimalism wave" that "The Minimalists" have triggered pleases me very much. Under the slogan "Simplify your life!", I already came across this in the 90s. Although this mindset, this idea, is obviously not new, it is worth telling again and again: Less is more and this already starts with the things of everyday life that we acquire. Or just not!
During their performances, "The Minimalists" impressively describe how their lives have become more worth living through the things they have abolished, through the things they have not bought, through a few idealistically valuable things that are the only ones allowed to remain in their homes.
In short: Our lives are too "full". Many things that we buy or do are actually unnecessary. Unnecessary because we either don't really need them at all or because we can achieve what we intended to do by using simple other tools or by simply taking different approaches. Who needs the many special kitchen appliances: the "super chopper", the "no other blender stirs so well", and the "only-that-is-how-you-really-stir-scrambled eggs bowl". How about using a cutting board, knife, bowl, and mixing spoon instead? These tools are universal and take up less space overall. And best of all, they can also be used to prepare dishes that have not yet been invented! Who needs the half-thick transitional jacket? Or the three-quarter-high, half-lined late autumn half-winter boots? Does anyone really need the third half-height low board for the still unused 80 cm free wall right next to the door? What about the extra printout of the ticket for the cinema, which is taken along with the screenshot of the reservation confirmation email and the reservation confirmation email itself and the ticket in the "Wallet" app of the iPhone? The bike for the way to the train station, plus the touring bike and also one for real downhill riding and of course a "normal" one for otherwise?
I repeat myself: Our lives are too "full". Full of tools, apps, things we don’t really need. So is our life as software developers as well, unfortunately.
How many IDEs does a person need? A separate editor for each programming language? A different tool for creating UML diagrams than for flow diagrams? Real? Only the craftsman who masters his tools very well is really good! This is just as true for a software developer. With 100 tools, this will be difficult. With a few, however, it is possible. So my recommendation is simply to concentrate on really few important tools and learn to use them perfectly. It's no coincidence that many developers who have chosen VIM and EMACS as editors code very, very quickly. Most of the time, however, not only because these editors have capabilities that no one else has, but because they are mostly used by developers who have been using them for years and have grown fond of them. They know every trick and every keyboard shortcut and every peculiarity. This allows them to make the most of the editors.
It's the same with all sub-disciplines of software development and the corresponding tools: Jenkins, Bamboo, svn, git, Maven, ant, nuget, NetBeans, IntelliJ, Eclipse, etc.: Evaluate, decide, use and then continue to gain experience. And stick with it. Of course, please don't misunderstand this as a call to stand still: From time to time, there are new tools that are superior to their old comparable predecessors. And then it makes sense to learn and use them. But please instead of the old versions and not permanently in parallel. And, by the way: all too often, such new "miracle tools" don't come out.
The best developers are not those who use the latest version of Visual Studio, but those who know something about test-driven development and clean code, the best project managers are not those who use MS Projekt in the latest version, but those who know whether their project should PRINCE2 better or the V-model should be used. And, on my own behalf, how important is it to me for a Scrum Master or Product Owner to master Jira?
In my experience, most calls for new tools come from the hope that the new tool will take the work off your hands and make everything easier. This is often not really true. There is still difficult work to be done. And making them is our job. That's our craft. We are masters at this. We should be happy and satisfied about it and deliver work that we can be proud of and not always evaluate the latest tools. Again and again.