When we started Atomic Object in 2001, the status quo in the industry was dismal—buggy software, blown budgets, missed deadlines, and lots of features nobody even used. Companies were treating software-making like an assembly line process, leading to some terrible products.

We wanted to make really good software that people would actually use. And to do that by putting the human element back in software development and honoring it as a craft.

From the start, we embraced new processes like Agile that gave power and responsibility back to individual craftsmen (and craftswomen). And we built the principle of testing constantly into our DNA.

After nailing code quality, we turned our attention toward predictability and got good at project management. Our next goal was software that met users’ true needs, so we brought in Human-Centered Design practices. Now we’re working on product management, as we tackle larger and more complex products in the Internet of Things.

Craftsmanship is putting something of yourself into everything you create. It’s designing things that are useful, and building things that are beautiful. It’s loving what you do, and always working to get better at it.

It’s what still inspires us today.