ESSENCE2 — Simplify and remove redundance from Why a Kernel and a Language

Issues

The following text is cumbersome and awkward, uses the passive voice, and uses the past tense.

• https://issues.omg.org/browse/ESSENCE2-2 - Passive Voice
• https://issues.omg.org/browse/ESSENCE2-3 - Present Tense
• https://issues.omg.org/browse/ESSENCE2-5 - Streamline text

Original Text

Teams need to be agile when working with methods so that:

• The focus is on method use, rather than comprehensive method description.
• The full team owns the method rather than a select few.
• The method evolves to address the team's ongoing needs, rather than staying fixed and unchanged.
• The method remains as close to practitioners' practice as possible, so that it evolves and adapts to their particular context and challenges.
• The method supports all competency levels helping the experienced and inexperienced practitioners alike.

This requires a separation of concerns:

• Separating the what from the how.
• Separating the results from the documentation.
• Separating the essence from the details.
• Separating what the least experienced developers need from what the most experienced developers need.
• Separating the complexity of engineering from the complexity of defining methods.

Key to achieving this is the separation of the kernel - capturing the essence of engineering - from 1) the practices that will be combined to form the method and 2) the language used to capture the kernel and the practices. This allows them all to be kept small, focused, and as simple as possible.

Suggestion

Agility in Team Methodologies

Teams must adopt agile approaches to method implementation to ensure effectiveness and responsiveness to dynamic needs:

• Method Utilization Over Description: Prioritize practical use of methods over exhaustive descriptions to enhance adaptability.
• Collective Ownership: Ensure the entire team, rather than a select few, owns and engages with the method.
• Continuous Evolution: Allow methods to evolve in response to the team's changing needs instead of remaining static.
• Practitioner Alignment: Keep methods aligned with practitioners' actual practices, allowing adaptation to specific contexts and challenges.
• Support Across Competency Levels: Design methods to aid all practitioners, from novices to experts, enhancing skill development and application.

Essential Separations for Method Effectiveness

Effective method management involves distinct separations:

• What vs. How: Distinguish between the goals of the method and the means of achieving them.
• Results vs. Documentation: Separate outcomes from their documentation to streamline processes.
• Essence vs. Details: Focus on the core (essence) of engineering principles while minimizing excessive details.
• Needs of Varying Expertise Levels: Tailor method accessibility to cater to the least and most experienced developers.
• Engineering vs. Method Definition Complexity: Differentiate the complexities inherent in engineering from those in defining methods.

Key Strategy: Kernel and Method Separation

Central to these practices is the distinction between the kernel, which captures the essence of engineering, and:

1. The practices combined to form the method.
2. The language used to describe the kernel and the practices.

This separation ensures that all components remain streamlined, focused, and simple, facilitating adaptability and effectiveness.