Subtract Before You Add
Complexity is removed, not accumulated. Structure earns its place through demonstrated need.
Build by Hand First
Run the work manually before automating it. Direct experience reveals the real requirements.
Keep the System Legible
People must be able to understand, inspect, maintain, and afford what has been built.
Practiced Through
These principles become useful through the choices made in the work itself.
- Match complexity to demonstrated demand.
- Let documentation and architecture follow evidence.
- Protect what is irreversible and defer what is easy to change.
- Preserve what cannot be recovered before changing a system.
- Prove value in one real use case before generalizing.
- Review independently against the underlying evidence.
- Diagnose clearly and deliver gently.