Articles And Essays by Andy Hunt

Collected Articles and Essays, 1998-present

2022

The Limits of Process by Andy Hunt, 01/25/2022

A software development "process" is often the wrong tool for the job. The GROWS Method® is not about process...
Habits vs. Practices by Andy Hunt, 01/05/2022

Most software development methods are defined by "practices" you have to follow. In many cases, this emphasis on practices goes badly, for two reasons...

2020

Why Are There So Many Misconceptions Around Agile? by Andy Hunt, 11/20/2020

I think we all agree that what agile is today has nothing to do with what it was conceived to be. Why are there so many misconceptions around agile?

2019

The Four Keys To Rapid Response Software Development by Andy Hunt, 01/14/2019

What makes software development so hard? How can we make it easier and "fix" common development problems? Here are four key strategies for modern software development that will allow you to reliably mount a rapid response to changing user requirements, market conditions, technology, staffing, and more. Number four will surprise you ;)

2018

Bailing Out Your Company by Andy Hunt, 09/12/2018

One of the largest factors that contributes to success in an organization is...

2017

Fixing the Stress of Designing, Forecasting, or Planning by Andy Hunt, 07/09/2017

Exploit the easiest, most well-hidden source of feedback to eliminate stress when designing, forecasting, or planning.

2016

Stop Practicing and Start Growing by Andy Hunt, 07/11/2016

Actual agility remains out of reach for many. The GROWS™ Method hopes to fix that.
About Estimates by Andy Hunt, 01/25/2016

Estimations are rarely correct and often abused. Use accurate projections based on real data.

2015

It's an Experiment by Andy Hunt, 05/18/2015

Let's make inspect and adapt a first-class part of the method.
The Failure of Agile by Andy Hunt, 05/06/2015

The word “agile” has become sloganized and meaningless at best. Let's fix that with a new approach.
L-mode/R-mode and DMN by Andy Hunt, 01/29/2015

Left-brain vs. right brain is wrong. It's really DMN vs. EAN. Here's why.

2014

Email is the Kind-killer by Andy Hunt, 12/02/2014

With apologies to Frank Herbert...

2013

No Place for Bugs to Hide by Andy Hunt, 04/18/2013

Get rid of the hiding places and fix the bugs now, while they remain small.
Directions for Safe Use by Andy Hunt, 04/12/2013

That thing should come with a warning.
Resistance is Natural by Andy Hunt, 02/28/2013

Resistance is natural. Do it anyway.
How to Avoid Agility by Andy Hunt, 02/19/2013

There are many great ways to avoid being “agile.” Some...

2011

The End of Agile by Andy Hunt, 08/01/2011

Guru Meditation: The end of Agile? Lessons from improv.
Getting Past Agile Advanced Beginner by Andy Hunt, 06/01/2011

Guru Meditation: Learning curves are typically not uniformly steep, or we’d call them learning slopes.
Uncomfortable with Agile by Andy Hunt, 05/01/2011

Guru Meditation: A truly agile project team lives on the edge of chaos.
Why Johnny Can’t Be Agile by Andy Hunt, 01/01/2011

Guru Meditation: Why adopting agile methods might be harder than you think.

2010

The Perfect Deadline by Andy Hunt, 12/01/2010

Guru Meditation: Deadlines cause cognitive shutdown. But without a deadline, activities drag on forever.
Avoiding the Infinite Abyss by Andy Hunt, 11/01/2010

Guru Meditation: Constraints foster ingenuity
One to One and Off by One by Andy Hunt, 10/02/2010

Guru Meditation: What we need is a practical way to tell whether or not our level of abstraction is appropriate.
The Programmer’s Rememberall by Andy Hunt, 10/01/2010

Guru Meditation: “Oh I’ll Remember That.” No, actually, you won’t...
Context is everything, especially with agile methods by Andy Hunt, 09/01/2010

Guru Meditation: The right thing at the wrong time and place is still wrong.
How *Not* to Eat An Elephant by Andy Hunt, 08/25/2010

The old adage about eating an elephant is wrong.
How to Escape Trivia Enslavement by Andy Hunt, 05/04/2010

What are you planning on doing today?
Study shows brief meditation helps cognition by Andy Hunt, 04/27/2010

10X improvements in cognitive tests.
SD Times Top-Ten List by Andy Hunt, 03/18/2010

Top ten most influential software development books
TedX RTP Mind Map and Presentation by Andy Hunt, 03/08/2010

The Next Great Thing
Read Faster by Reading Less by Andy Hunt, 01/19/2010

A variation on the SQ3R reading method.

2009

Smiling better than antidepressants? by Andy Hunt, 10/27/2009

In my recent book, I point out that the ever-adapting...
Restoring cognitive function, cheap and easy by Andy Hunt, 09/01/2009

Replenish your top-down directed attention abilities.
What IS the most important thing? by Andy Hunt, 04/01/2009

The other day an interviewer asked me to volunteer what...
Cognitive benefits of doodling. by Andy Hunt, 03/04/2009

Idle doodling improves focus.
Don't overthink it. by Andy Hunt, 02/20/2009

A recent article in Scientific American outlines some interesting research...

2008

Science Failure and Cubicle Brain Death by Andy Hunt, 12/02/2008

How to grow more brain cells.
Always an exception... by Andy Hunt, 10/17/2008

For every rule, no matter how iron-clad it may seem,...
Test-driven Learning by Andy Hunt, 10/07/2008

Caching algorithms in your brain.
Stage 0: Not Ready for Agile by Andy Hunt, 06/16/2008

This last week, I was out speaking at the Better...

2007

Are you working beyond your means? by Andy Hunt, 12/04/2007

Do less to do more.

2006

Better balls can't top old balls by Andy Hunt, 12/12/2006

Muscle memory and Tracer Bullets

2005

Déjà fubar by Andy Hunt, 10/19/2005

That sinking feeling...
Learning How To Climb the Walls by Andy Hunt, 03/15/2005

Context before details.

2004

No such thing as Observer by Andy Hunt, 11/14/2004

It's a Participatory Universe.
Practice by Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt, 11/01/2004

Practice, not construction.
Imaginate by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, 09/01/2004

If your tools don’t support interactive design and rapid development with the end user, scrap them. Pete did.
Experience, not Tools, says Pink Floyd by Andy Hunt, 08/29/2004

Dangers of the Tool Trap
Open Source Ecosystems by Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt, 07/01/2004

Is it possible to bring Open Source practices and enthusiasm in-house, improving the way we develop software in a corporate environment?
CMM and Repeatable Process by Andy Hunt, 06/16/2004

One of the goals of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM)...
Unsharp Mask As Mental Discipline by Andy Hunt, 05/10/2004

De-focus to focus.
Keep It DRY, Shy, and Tell the Other Guy by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, 05/01/2004

OO Theory explained in One Sentance.
Nurturing Requirements by Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt, 03/01/2004

Many people think that there are such things as requirements.
Three Legs, No Wobble by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, 01/01/2004

How to ruin a software project in just three easy steps

2003

Preparing the Raw Material by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, 11/01/2003

People are the raw material of software construction.
Pipelines by Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt, 11/01/2003

Pipelines are a wonderful opportunity for both simplification and reuse.
The Bear in the Cornfield by Andy Hunt, 10/20/2003

Continuous un-learning is critical.
The New "Cotton Club" by Andy Hunt, 10/06/2003

Alternative systems evolve when the official ones don't cut it.
Ender's Game and Software Development by Andy Hunt, 07/21/2003

It's about Emergence, Practice, and Learning
How Good a Job Can You Do? by Andy Hunt, 07/08/2003

Not just anybody could paint a fence well.
Use Your Illusion by Andy Hunt, 06/19/2003

Pragmatism insists on a certain amount of skepticism.
Herd Products by Andy Hunt, 06/01/2003

Herd features and the guava gap.
Ten Blunt Axes by Andy Hunt, 05/06/2003

A smaller, sharper tool might be more appropriate.
Verbing the Noun by Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt, 05/01/2003

Managers can’t measure the thought that goes in to a specification; they only see the document.
How do you deal with mistakes? by Andy Hunt, 04/27/2003

How you deal with mistakes makes the difference.
Practicing Programming On the Job by Andy Hunt, 04/24/2003

Practice in Performance
Rules of Woodworking by Andy Hunt, 04/09/2003

There are only two fundamental rules to woodworking.
The Lettuce Principle by Andy Hunt, 03/11/2003

It's got to be easy.
The Trip-Packing Dilemma by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, 03/01/2003

We want to actively increase the “amount of work not done."
The Fallacy of Repeatability by Andy Hunt, 02/23/2003

For repeatable success, look at talent, not process.
Inadequate Requirements by Andy Hunt, 02/20/2003

Requirements are meant to be interpreted.
The Art of Enbugging by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, 01/01/2003

On a bad day you might feel you are enbugging the code—putting the bugs in.

2002

Zero-Tolerance Construction by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, 11/01/2002

No Broken Windows applies to more than code.
State Machines by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, 11/01/2002

State machines can be appropriate in surprising circumstances.
Mock Objects by Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt, 05/01/2002

The real world conspires to stop our unit tests from being neat, self-contained (and orthogonal) chunks of code.
Ubiquitous Automation by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, 02/01/2002

Software development, including its construction, is utterly unlike any other human endeavor.
Software Archeology by Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas, 02/01/2002

Code becomes legacy code as soon as it’s written; we have the same issues as archaeologists.

2001

Art In Programming by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas, 09/01/2001

Is software development an engineering discipline? Is it art? Is it more like a craft?

1998

The Joy of Star Trek by Andy Hunt, 10/01/1998

The role of metadata in adaptable systems, and how that makes Star Trek type technologies possible.
A Crayon for the Mind by Andy Hunt, 08/01/1998

What's the appropriate level of specificity in object oriented design, and why it's better to follow the model of a vinyl LP instead of a compact disc.
Tell, Don't Ask by Andy Hunt, 07/01/1998

Keep your orders and your facts separate, tell as little about yourself as possible, and don't talk to others any more than is necessary.
Andy's Guide to OO Development by Andy Hunt, 07/01/1998

Bits and pieces of methods both formal and informal
The Spirit of the Tool by Andy Hunt, 05/01/1998

The spirit of the tool carries through its lifetime. Which spirit do you embrace?
Never Build an Application by Andy Hunt, 03/01/1998

But isn't that what application programming is all about? Yes, but it shouldn't be.
Sturgeon's Law by Andy Hunt, 02/01/1998

Sturgeon's law, some hopes and aspirations for the future
Semantic Invariants by Andy Hunt, 01/01/1998

Welcome to the Toolshed Technologies Newsletter!

Late 1980's to 1998

Most of my writing at this time was covered by corporate NDAs, and cannot be published openly. It wasn't very interesting stuff, for the most part. Some HOW-TO guides to object safety in C++, various DSL specifications and concepts, and a lot more that has been lost to the digital trashcan of history.

I started consulting part-time in the early 1990's, and went full-time and incorporated in 1995. In 1998 I started a newsletter for Toolshed, and those early writings are included here. The rest, as they say, is history.

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Andy Hunt Musician, Author, Programmer