Cowboy coding: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:44, 7 February 2007

Revision as of 16:27, 12 February 2007

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'''Cowboy coding''' is a form of [[software development]] method without an actual defined method - – team members do whatever they feel is right. Typical cowboy coding will involve no initial definition of the purpose or scope of the project, no formal description of the project, and will often involve one programmer. It is characterised by a single programmer jumping into the writing of the software often working from his own idea of what the software should do. It is also characterised by a lack of any documentation for either the requirements of the project or the design of the software overall.

As with all methodologies, the skill and experience of the user(s) define the degree of success and/or abuse of such activity. Controls and/or checks and balances systematically embedded within a process offer stronger levels of accountability of the user(s). It is the degradation of well intended procedures which leads to activities often defined as Cowboy coding.