Most commit messages are next to useless because they focus on WHAT was done instead of WHY.

This is exactly the wrong thing to focus on.

You can always reconstruct what changes a commit contains, but it's near impossible to unearth the reason it was done.

(thread)

Think about the last time you `git blame`d something.

You were almost certainly thinking "WHY is this like this?", not "What is a one-line summary of what happened in this commit?".
Here's the antidote: use this commit template (stolen from @joeferris).

```
[one line-summary of changes]

Because:
- [relevant context]
- [why you decided to change things]
- [reason you're doing it now]

This commit:
- [does X]
- [does Y]
- [does Z]
```
Leading with the WHY has tremendous value.

First, it captures context that will be near impossible to recover later. Trust me, this stuff is gold.

Secondly, if you train yourself to ask why you're making every change, you'll tend to make better changes.
Give this template a try for a while.

The first time you see a commit message like the above instead of "refactor OrderWidget", you'll be a convert.
For more thoughts on this topic, and details on setting up a commit message template, check out this post.

https://t.co/8e9p3x0zb0
Also! Here are a few examples of this commit message template in action:

https://t.co/KrOvHJPMXg

https://t.co/rnWpApDrTx

https://t.co/R7tAV3b8rx

More from Tech

A common misunderstanding about Agile and “Big Design Up Front”:

There’s nothing in the Agile Manifesto or Principles that states you should never have any idea what you’re trying to build.

You’re allowed to think about a desired outcome from the beginning.

It’s not Big Design Up Front if you do in-depth research to understand the user’s problem.

It’s not BDUF if you spend detailed time learning who needs this thing and why they need it.

It’s not BDUF if you help every team member know what success looks like.

Agile is about reducing risk.

It’s not Agile if you increase risk by starting your sprints with complete ignorance.

It’s not Agile if you don’t research.

Don’t make the mistake of shutting down critical understanding by labeling it Bg Design Up Front.

It would be a mistake to assume this research should only be done by designers and researchers.

Product management and developers also need to be out with the team, conducting the research.

Shared Understanding is the key objective


Big Design Up Front is a thing to avoid.

Defining all the functionality before coding is BDUF.

Drawing every screen and every pixel is BDUF.

Promising functionality (or delivery dates) to customers before development starts is BDUF.

These things shouldn’t happen in Agile.
🙂 Hey - have you heard of @RevolutApp Business before?

🌐 Great international transfer and 🏦 foreign #exchange rates, and various tools to manage your #business.

👉 https://t.co/dkuBrYrfMq

#banking #fintech #revolut #growth #startups
1/10


One place to manage all things business
Get more from your business account with powerful tools that give you total control over your finances.

👉
https://t.co/dkuBrYrfMq
2/10


Accept payments
online at great rates
Receive card payments from around the world with low fees and next-day settlement.

👉 https://t.co/dkuBrYrfMq
3/10


Send and receive international payments, with no hidden fees
Multi-currency accounts allow you to hold, exchange, send and receive funds in 28+ currencies - always at the real (interbank) exchange rate...

👉 https://t.co/dkuBrYrfMq
4/10


Optimise spend with smart company cards
Spend in over 150 currencies at the real (interbank) exchange rate
Stay in control – issue physical and virtual cards, track spending in real-time for your entire team...

👉 https://t.co/dkuBrYrfMq
5/10

You May Also Like

Tip from the Monkey
Pangolins, September 2019 and PLA are the key to this mystery
Stay Tuned!


1. Yang


2. A jacobin capuchin dangling a flagellin pangolin on a javelin while playing a mandolin and strangling a mannequin on a paladin's palanquin, said Saladin
More to come tomorrow!


3. Yigang Tong
https://t.co/CYtqYorhzH
Archived: https://t.co/ncz5ruwE2W


4. YT Interview
Some bats & pangolins carry viruses related with SARS-CoV-2, found in SE Asia and in Yunnan, & the pangolins carrying SARS-CoV-2 related viruses were smuggled from SE Asia, so there is a possibility that SARS-CoV-2 were coming from
So the cryptocurrency industry has basically two products, one which is relatively benign and doesn't have product market fit, and one which is malignant and does. The industry has a weird superposition of understanding this fact and (strategically?) not understanding it.


The benign product is sovereign programmable money, which is historically a niche interest of folks with a relatively clustered set of beliefs about the state, the literary merit of Snow Crash, and the utility of gold to the modern economy.

This product has narrow appeal and, accordingly, is worth about as much as everything else on a 486 sitting in someone's basement is worth.

The other product is investment scams, which have approximately the best product market fit of anything produced by humans. In no age, in no country, in no city, at no level of sophistication do people consistently say "Actually I would prefer not to get money for nothing."

This product needs the exchanges like they need oxygen, because the value of it is directly tied to having payment rails to move real currency into the ecosystem and some jurisdictional and regulatory legerdemain to stay one step ahead of the banhammer.