Bob Martin (author of Clean Code, The Clean Coder, and evangelist of software craftsmanship) recently posted The Programmer’s Oath. Let’s say we have jobs as System Engineer’s or System Administrator’s. We may write code to automate our work, to manage, maintain, and operate our systems and environments, but we don’t necessarily work as Programmer’s do writing applications for business functions. Would the Programmer’s Oath apply? Are its promises relevant to systems engineering/administration work? Perhaps it does. Here’s a version with some of the words changed as The System Administrator’s Oath.

In order to defend and preserve the honor of the profession of systems engineers and administrators,

  1. I will not create harmful infrastructure or systems.
  2. The infrastructure and systems that I create will always be my best work. I will not knowingly make changes to infrastructure or systems that are defective either in behavior or structure.
  3. I will produce, with each change, a quick, sure, and repeatable proof that every element of the infrastructure and systems work as it should.
  4. I will make frequent, small, changes so that I do not impede the progress of others.
  5. I will fearlessly and relentlessly improve the infrastructure and systems at every opportunity. I will never make the infrastructure worse.
  6. I will do all that I can to keep the productivity of myself, and others, as high as possible. I will do nothing that decreases that productivity.
  7. I will continuously ensure that others can cover for me, and that I can cover for them.
  8. I will produce estimates that are honest both in magnitude and precision. I will not make promises without certainty.
  9. I will never stop learning and improving my craft.

Regardless of how you might feel about taking oaths, Uncle Bob’s promises are something to contemplate as we constantly work to become better IT Professionals.