The Codeless Code: Case 227 You Are What You Eat
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Now that the Temple had adopted the Agile Way, its
analysts, developers, and testers had been reorganized into
many Tiny Clans. Each Tiny Clan had been given the freedom
to develop its applications in whatever manner it saw fit.
It was still the task of the masters to review the code of
all, though their authority had been much diminished. Thus
it was with no great joy that young master Zjing reviewed
the code of the new clans.
After the early morning meal, Zjing took a printout to the
head monk of the Swooping Falcon Clan.
“You have implemented business logic that is outside your
purview,” said Zjing, pointing to the code. “The Nimble
Roadrunner Clan is chiefly responsible for this business
process. They should provide a library or service for you
to consume.”
“Yet they offer neither,” said the head monk. “Copying their
code was effortless. Petitioning them for an API would
impede our progress and create another external dependency
for us to track—thus hindering our progress in the future.”
After the late morning meal, Zjing took her printout to the
head nun of the Nimble Roadrunner Clan.
“The Swooping Falcon Clan has duplicated your business
logic,” said Zjing, pointing to the code. “You should
provide a library or service for them to consume.”
“Yet we ourselves need neither,” said the head nun.
“Embedding the logic in our UI was effortless. Extracting
and packaging it for external consumption would impede our
progress and create another API for us to manage—thus
hindering our progress in the future.”
After the midday meal, Zjing set off into the woods to clear
her mind.
On the journey out, she saw five wolves surround a stag. The
deer, lacking a direction in which to escape, was soon taken
down by the swiftest wolf, whereupon the whole pack ate
well.
On the journey back, she saw three rabbits nibbling on
clover in a wide green clearing. No rabbit let a single
minute pass without attempting to chase its fellows away.
Indeed, as much time was spent rushing about as eating.
At this sight, the young master was enlightened.
After the evening meal, Zjing stood before a copy of the
Agile Manifesto in the Great Hall, pondering. One of the
cooks asked what she was so fixated on.
Zjing said: “A change in the Temple’s diet.”
When the cook asked her to explain, Zjing said: “Not even
the Patriarchs could teach a fat rabbit to be cunning. Yet
if all the greenery sprouted legs and ran, what clever
little hunters might the cotton-tails become...”
