Software Design: Tidy First?

Share this post

User's avatar
Software Design: Tidy First?
Thinkie: Hill Climbing
Thinkies

Thinkie: Hill Climbing

Kent Beck's avatar
Kent Beck
Oct 01, 2024
∙ Paid
11

Share this post

User's avatar
Software Design: Tidy First?
Thinkie: Hill Climbing
Share

On the subject of favorite analogies:

Pattern: Something isn’t good enough but you’re stuck improving it.

Transformation: Recast the situation as hill climbing—

  1. Identify a fitness function for the situation. What means “better”?

  2. Identify a threshold for the fitness function above which you’re satisfied (for the moment—nobody’s satisfied for long).

  3. Identify t…

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Kent Beck
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share