Prefactoring is the name given to a book written by Ken Pugh, and it is a book that has generated a lot of controversy, partly because of the title (of all things). It seems a shame people have been side-tracked, almost as if they feel they’ve been duped into buying the book. My thoughts on this are short.

High-grade software cannot be built just by “doing agile”, or any other methodology. Just because a developer knows the complete list of Martin Fowlers Refactorings, up/down/left/right and inside out, doesnt make them a high-grade developer either. Nor does knowing how to write a TDD test, or dare I say it, a BDD spec, make a developer top-notch. Theres a lot more that goes into the pot of experience that puts a mindful practitioner on the road to becoming high-grade. Theres also a lot more that goes into delivering high-grade software than refactoring, test-driven development or 2-week iterations and a 40 hour week. Prefactoring distills some of the principles that complement and support a development team, agile or not, to move towards being successful in their software endeavours. Theres a lot more to “doing agile” than the neo-jargon that proliferates the web, and if you are a developer serious about furthering your career, that pursuit will be achieved through ignoring the uninformed distractions that form the “information” on the internet, and remain steadfast in your pursuit for gaining experience in the profession, from hands-on development to the study and critiqueing of the work and ideas of other practitioners in the field. Prefactoring is one such book I would recommend to anyone who is serious about software.