The Boy Scout Rule

"Always leave the campground cleaner than you found it." — Robert Baden-Powell

"Always check a module in cleaner than when you checked it out." — Robert C. Martin, Clean Code

The Philosophy

You don't have to make every module perfect. You simply have to make it a little bit better than when you found it.

If we all followed this simple rule:

• Our systems would gradually get better as they evolved
• Teams would care for the system as a whole
• The relentless deterioration of software would end

When Working on Code