I have been enamored with the concept of bricolage for some time now. French for “tinkering”, bricolage is the building of something from what is available. Sherry Turkle applied this to programming, suggesting less an exhaustive specification than an iterative growth process with re-evaluation loops.
Turkle writes: “The bricoleur resembles the painter who stands back between brushstrokes, looks at the canvas, and only after this contemplation, decides what to do next.”