Story Scenario Tree: Practicing Simple Design in Software Development

The article introduces the Story Scenario Tree as a tool to help developers practice simple design thinking.

It explains that simple design is essential for good software development and must guide development, not just be documentation.

Simple design provides a clear guide map for developers, enabling high-quality code with proper isolation to prevent defects from future changes.

It also emphasizes defining test cases upfront to set the definition of "development completion" for each task.

Through the Story Scenario Tree, developers can identify tasks, required external interfaces, and design corresponding test cases.

The article includes an example of a Story Scenario Tree for a "Customer rents CD" story, outlining three tasks: obtaining historical rental data, verifying rented CD count, and calculating return date.

It discusses code isolation: ensuring changes in one task do not introduce defects in another, achievable via interfaces or design patterns.

By defining test cases for each task, developers can objectively assess daily progress and identify needed assistance.

The piece notes that while some individuals naturally possess simple design thinking, most develop it through practice, citing Matei Zaharia's Spark development as an example of innate ability.

It concludes that developers with simple design thinking produce code that evolves healthily over time, likening great code to a healthy organism.