Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility

The first thing to check is that we are not reading the principle too quickly, but actually reading it and absorbing the detail that’s written.

Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility

1. Continuous attention to 

2. technical excellence and 

3. good design 

4. enhances agility

The 1990s

So many of the processes were focused on time and budget and system that allowed priorities to be set as "must", "nice". "optional" and more often than now the attention to sustainable technical excellence was not a must.  Building this in was just not thought of as products were seen as finite, like physical products, and not an incremental improvement as software is.

The intent of this principle

Build it was and it will last longer. Not only this, but make the maintenance easy and you will be able to maintain and improve with ease.

Today (+20 years on)

Perhaps misunderstood as "greater" attention, that is not what this principle is advocating for.  This principle is about "continuous" and to achieve this it means employing smart people who ca do this.  One thing that is generally counter to this principle is drawing in temporary experts to deliver improvements.  Other warnings 

• Tech spikes

• Architects who don't cut code 

• Code and peer reviews that are about policing and not learning.

Chapters and Guilds are a great mechanism to promote this principle.