Review: Apprenticeship Patterns

We have been reading Apprenticeship Patterns: Guidance for the Aspiring Software Craftsman as part of our Sequential Learning in the Utah Software Craftsmanship Group. The discussions have been excellent and have lead to greater understanding of the material, at least for me.

The explicit discussion of how to improve has been enlightening for me. There are many patterns that I am now or have in the past applied to my career. There are a few that are new to me. Many of the recommended Actions push me out of my comfort zone.

The assertion that there are not yet any Master Software Craftsmen came as a surprise. There are quite a few people whose works I follow who I have considered masters for a while. Either way, there is a lot of room for improvement all around, so I am excited to Rub Elbows with other aspiring craftsmen.

My favorite quote from the book was "Moreover, most programmers think they are above average. The sad reality is that, due to the skewed distribution of skill illustrated by the following chart, most programmers are actually below average." I know that this has applied to me at multiple points during my career and I assume it always will. That won't keep me from learning and trying and constantly improving though.

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