Rules of Thumb - Bjarne Stroustrup

[From "The C++ Programming Language, 2nd Ed." by Bjarne Stroustrup.]

• Know what you are trying to achieve
• Have specific and tangible aims
• Consider the longer term
  • in design
  • in the treatment of people
• Use existing systems as models, as inspiration, and as starting pints
• Design for change
  • flexibility
  • extensibility
  • portability
  • re-use
• Document, market, and support re-usable components
• Reward and encourage re-use of
  • designs
  • libraries
  • classes
• Focus on component design
• Repeatedly review and refine both the design and implementation
• Use the best tools available for testing and analyzing
• Experiment, analyze and test as early as possible and as often as possible
• Keep it simple; as simple as possible, but no simpler
• Keep it small; don't add features "just in case"
• Don't forget about efficiency
• Keep the level of formality appropriate to the scale of the project
• Don't forget that designers, programmers, and even managers are human.