Praise for Clean Craftsmanship

“Bob’s Clean Craftsmanship has done a great job explaining the purposes of agile technical practices, along with a deep historical basis for how they came into existence, as well as positioning for why they will always be important. His involvement in history and formation of agility, thorough understanding of practices, and their purposes reflect vividly throughout the manuscript.”

—Tim Ottinger, well-known Agile Coach and author

“Bob’s writing style is excellent. It is easy to read and the concepts are explained in perfect detail for even a new programmer to follow. Bob even has some funny moments, which pleasantly snap you out of focus. The true value of the book is really in the cry for change, for something better … the cry for programmers to be professional … the realization that software is everywhere. Additionally, I believe there is a lot of value in all the history Bob provides. I enjoy that he doesn’t waste time laying blame for how we got to where we are now. Bob calls people to action, asking them to take responsibility by increasing their standards and level of professionalism, even if that means pushing back sometimes.”

—Heather Kanser

“As software developers, we have to continually solve important problems for our employers, customers, colleagues, and future selves. Getting the app to work, though difficult, is not enough, it does not make you a craftsman. With an app working, you have passed the app-titude test. You may have the aptitude to be a craftsman, but there is more to master. In these pages, Bob expresses clearly the techniques and responsibilities to go beyond the app-titude test and show the way of the serious software craftsman.”

—James Grenning, author of Test-Driven Development for Embedded C and Agile Manifesto co-author

“Bob’s one of the very few famous developers with whom I’d like to work on a tech project. It’s not because he’s a good developer, famous, or a good communicator; it’s because Bob helps me be a better developer and a team member. He has spotted every major development trend, years ahead of others, and has been able to explain its importance, which encouraged me to learn. Back when I started—apart from being honest and a good person—the idea of craftsmanship and ethics was completely missing from this field. Now, it seems to be the most important thing professional developers can learn, even ahead of coding itself. I’m happy to see Bob leading the way again. I can’t wait to hear his perspective and incorporate it into my own practice.”

—Daniel Markham, Principal, Bedford Technology Group, Inc.