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Craftsmanship vs Big Design Upfront

Developers should learn craftsmanship to build robust, scalable, and long-lasting software systems that are easier to maintain and extend over time meets developers should use bduf in projects with stable requirements, high regulatory or safety-critical needs, or large-scale systems where upfront clarity is essential, such as in aerospace, finance, or government sectors. Here's our take.

🧊Nice Pick

Craftsmanship

Developers should learn craftsmanship to build robust, scalable, and long-lasting software systems that are easier to maintain and extend over time

Craftsmanship

Nice Pick

Developers should learn craftsmanship to build robust, scalable, and long-lasting software systems that are easier to maintain and extend over time

Pros

  • +It is particularly valuable in complex projects, legacy codebases, and environments where reliability and performance are critical, such as financial systems, healthcare applications, and large-scale enterprise software
  • +Related to: clean-code, test-driven-development

Cons

  • -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Big Design Upfront

Developers should use BDUF in projects with stable requirements, high regulatory or safety-critical needs, or large-scale systems where upfront clarity is essential, such as in aerospace, finance, or government sectors

Pros

  • +It helps prevent costly rework by establishing a clear roadmap early, but it can be less flexible for dynamic or rapidly evolving projects where agile methods might be more suitable
  • +Related to: waterfall-methodology, requirements-analysis

Cons

  • -Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Craftsmanship if: You want it is particularly valuable in complex projects, legacy codebases, and environments where reliability and performance are critical, such as financial systems, healthcare applications, and large-scale enterprise software and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Big Design Upfront if: You prioritize it helps prevent costly rework by establishing a clear roadmap early, but it can be less flexible for dynamic or rapidly evolving projects where agile methods might be more suitable over what Craftsmanship offers.

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The Bottom Line
Craftsmanship wins

Developers should learn craftsmanship to build robust, scalable, and long-lasting software systems that are easier to maintain and extend over time

Disagree with our pick? nice@nicepick.dev