The position
Names are not arguments.
Listing parts is a way of borrowing confidence. It sounds precise while telling you nothing about how the thing behaves in your hands.
It also ages badly: parts get replaced, and a promise attached to a part is a promise you can break by improving the product.
So we describe behaviour instead. What happens when you tap. What the card holds. What we cannot do for you. Those statements stay true.
Two ways to describe a product.
What you learn
- Specification talk
- A list of names.
- Behaviour talk
- What happens when you use it.
Ages
- Specification talk
- Badly, parts change.
- Behaviour talk
- Well, behaviour is the promise.
Verifiable
- Specification talk
- Rarely, by you.
- Behaviour talk
- Yes, in your own hands.
Honest about limits
- Specification talk
- Usually silent.
- Behaviour talk
- Stated plainly.
Describe the object,
not the parts list.