Improving Software Design
When designing software, it’s essential to listen to feedback. Friction is an excellent indicator that improvements need to be made. If a design is causing difficulties for the development team, it’s trying to tell you something important is missing. There are many signs that a design may need to be more flexible, but the most practical and obvious is the difficulty of testing an object. This is often a sign of coupling. It’s essential to remain open to design insights during the coding process. The interaction between developers and the Code can help simplify the system.
Good design is a renaissance attitude that combines technology, cognitive science, human need, and beauty to produce something that the world didn’t know it was missing. — PAOLA ANTONELLI
We should adhere to a few guidelines to ensure our Code is modifiable. Any changes we make should not have any unintended consequences. If the requirements change, we should only make minor adjustments to the Code. Additionally, we aim to make our Code reusable. It’s best to create new Code when adding new features instead of altering existing Code. Code that produces no side effects will be much simpler to change, as we don’t have to worry about unintended consequences. Finally, we can assess the quality of our Code by measuring the changes needed when faced with new requirements.
Design Patterns can reduce development costs by providing valuable information in less Code. Additionally, design plays a crucial role in facilitating changes that may arise in the future. The primary goal behind implementing Design Patterns is to reduce software lifecycle costs. An experienced programmer is like an artist who can transform a blank screen into a coded system through clean and direct steps. Clean Code is readable and can be enhanced by other developers. It comprises unit and acceptance tests, meaningful names, simplicity, and consistency. It has minimal dependencies, which are defined, and provides a clear and minimal API.
