Kent Beck
@kentbeck.com
Independent I guess these days you'd say content producer, artist, programmer, musician, pokerist. More about me at https://KentBeck.com.
Whatever happened to furniture polish. I know it must still exist but the ads for Lemon Pledge used to be everywhere. Did we all just become inured to dull furniture
January 10, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Whatever happened to furniture polish. I know it must still exist but the ads for Lemon Pledge used to be everywhere. Did we all just become inured to dull furniture
Reposted by Kent Beck
Models suddenly getting good enough to write most of my code - which I am now prompting - creates complicated feelings.
It took a long time to get good at coding. And it's not easy. Plus, there was something special about being in "the zone."
Full: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/the-grief-wh...
It took a long time to get good at coding. And it's not easy. Plus, there was something special about being in "the zone."
Full: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/the-grief-wh...
January 7, 2026 at 6:57 PM
Models suddenly getting good enough to write most of my code - which I am now prompting - creates complicated feelings.
It took a long time to get good at coding. And it's not easy. Plus, there was something special about being in "the zone."
Full: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/the-grief-wh...
It took a long time to get good at coding. And it's not easy. Plus, there was something special about being in "the zone."
Full: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/the-grief-wh...
Reposted by Kent Beck
Two legends confirmed for The Pragmatic Summit: Martin Fowler (@martinfowler.com) and Kent Beck (@kentbeck.com)
We'll talk about what past booms+busts taught them, and their take on AI+software engineering: what they see working, and what not so much
11 Feb, SF: www.pragmaticsummit.com
We'll talk about what past booms+busts taught them, and their take on AI+software engineering: what they see working, and what not so much
11 Feb, SF: www.pragmaticsummit.com
December 29, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Two legends confirmed for The Pragmatic Summit: Martin Fowler (@martinfowler.com) and Kent Beck (@kentbeck.com)
We'll talk about what past booms+busts taught them, and their take on AI+software engineering: what they see working, and what not so much
11 Feb, SF: www.pragmaticsummit.com
We'll talk about what past booms+busts taught them, and their take on AI+software engineering: what they see working, and what not so much
11 Feb, SF: www.pragmaticsummit.com
I want the government that Beth is a part of.
I majored in theater because of Augusto Boal.
He wanted to "make this world a place to live and be happy in - rather than just a vast market in which we sell our goods and our souls."
He tried to convince the government that it is possible. I decided to become the government. bethfordemocracy.com
He wanted to "make this world a place to live and be happy in - rather than just a vast market in which we sell our goods and our souls."
He tried to convince the government that it is possible. I decided to become the government. bethfordemocracy.com
Beth for Democracy | Bethany Andres-Beck for Congress
Bethany Andres-Beck is a candidate for Congress running to represent Massachusetts' 6th District.
bethfordemocracy.com
December 29, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I want the government that Beth is a part of.
Reposted by Kent Beck
Interesting post: The Bet On Juniors Just Got Better open.substack.com/pub/tidyfirs...
by @kentbeck.com #ai
by @kentbeck.com #ai
The Bet On Juniors Just Got Better
Why genies can make hiring juniors more profitable, & what you need to change to get there
open.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Interesting post: The Bet On Juniors Just Got Better open.substack.com/pub/tidyfirs...
by @kentbeck.com #ai
by @kentbeck.com #ai
Reposted by Kent Beck
Some economists claim “affordability” problems are a myth.
Their reports miss that return to office is basically a 10% cut in our hourly wages. And the resulting traffic hits everyone.
Economics doesn’t measure our lives.
Their reports miss that return to office is basically a 10% cut in our hourly wages. And the resulting traffic hits everyone.
Economics doesn’t measure our lives.
December 12, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Some economists claim “affordability” problems are a myth.
Their reports miss that return to office is basically a 10% cut in our hourly wages. And the resulting traffic hits everyone.
Economics doesn’t measure our lives.
Their reports miss that return to office is basically a 10% cut in our hourly wages. And the resulting traffic hits everyone.
Economics doesn’t measure our lives.
Reposted by Kent Beck
Catch up on this week’s episode with @KentBeck.com
He breaks down how teams burn optionality, why structure matters, and how making the hard change easy shapes every feature that follows.
Listen with host @robbyonrails.com: maintainable.fm/episodes/ken...
He breaks down how teams burn optionality, why structure matters, and how making the hard change easy shapes every feature that follows.
Listen with host @robbyonrails.com: maintainable.fm/episodes/ken...
December 11, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Catch up on this week’s episode with @KentBeck.com
He breaks down how teams burn optionality, why structure matters, and how making the hard change easy shapes every feature that follows.
Listen with host @robbyonrails.com: maintainable.fm/episodes/ken...
He breaks down how teams burn optionality, why structure matters, and how making the hard change easy shapes every feature that follows.
Listen with host @robbyonrails.com: maintainable.fm/episodes/ken...
Reposted by Kent Beck
We Tried Trunk-Based Development... The Results Were Shocking | @davefarley77.bsky.social
📽️ AVAILABLE NOW
WATCH HERE ➡️ youtu.be/CR3LP2n2dWw
📽️ AVAILABLE NOW
WATCH HERE ➡️ youtu.be/CR3LP2n2dWw
We Tried Trunk-Based Development... The Results Were Shocking.
YouTube video by Modern Software Engineering
youtu.be
December 10, 2025 at 7:01 PM
We Tried Trunk-Based Development... The Results Were Shocking | @davefarley77.bsky.social
📽️ AVAILABLE NOW
WATCH HERE ➡️ youtu.be/CR3LP2n2dWw
📽️ AVAILABLE NOW
WATCH HERE ➡️ youtu.be/CR3LP2n2dWw
Emily is really digging deep here.
I am really enjoying having some time between contracts at the moment... I just wrote an article about the test desiderata - this has been on my mind to write about for several years at this point! coding-is-like-cooking.info/2025/12/test...
Test Desiderata 2.0 - Coding Is Like Cooking
Kent Beck is one of the original authors of JUnit, an open source tool that kick-started a huge shift in programmer behaviour that I and others have found immensely valuable. In 2019 he published his ...
coding-is-like-cooking.info
December 8, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Emily is really digging deep here.
You know that rude driving move where 2 cars going opposite ways are stopped at a light. The oncoming car is making a left turn. As soon as the light turns, the oncoming car guns it in front of the car with the right of way & forces it to slam on its brakes.
Just saw a Waymo do this.
Just saw a Waymo do this.
December 1, 2025 at 9:52 PM
You know that rude driving move where 2 cars going opposite ways are stopped at a light. The oncoming car is making a left turn. As soon as the light turns, the oncoming car guns it in front of the car with the right of way & forces it to slam on its brakes.
Just saw a Waymo do this.
Just saw a Waymo do this.
Reposted by Kent Beck
Socialism is good, actually.
We deserve Representatives with the courage to say so.
bethfordemocracy.com
We deserve Representatives with the courage to say so.
bethfordemocracy.com
Beth for Democracy | Bethany Andres-Beck for Congress
Bethany Andres-Beck is a candidate for Congress running to represent Massachusetts' 6th District.
bethfordemocracy.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Socialism is good, actually.
We deserve Representatives with the courage to say so.
bethfordemocracy.com
We deserve Representatives with the courage to say so.
bethfordemocracy.com
Why does feature development slow & what can we do about it? (This problem because acute with vibe coding.) tidyfirst.substack.com/p/why-does-d...
tl;dr use the time between features to create options. What? You have no time between features? We'll talk about that later...
tl;dr use the time between features to create options. What? You have no time between features? We'll talk about that later...
Why Does Development Slow?
It's the options
tidyfirst.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Why does feature development slow & what can we do about it? (This problem because acute with vibe coding.) tidyfirst.substack.com/p/why-does-d...
tl;dr use the time between features to create options. What? You have no time between features? We'll talk about that later...
tl;dr use the time between features to create options. What? You have no time between features? We'll talk about that later...
Reposted by Kent Beck
Every Software Engineer Can Learn TDD (If They Do It Like This) | @emilybache.com
📅 TONIGHT AT 7pm (UK)
Subscribe & turn on notifications 🔔 so you never miss an upload ➡️ youtube.com/@ModernSoftw...
📅 TONIGHT AT 7pm (UK)
Subscribe & turn on notifications 🔔 so you never miss an upload ➡️ youtube.com/@ModernSoftw...
November 19, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Every Software Engineer Can Learn TDD (If They Do It Like This) | @emilybache.com
📅 TONIGHT AT 7pm (UK)
Subscribe & turn on notifications 🔔 so you never miss an upload ➡️ youtube.com/@ModernSoftw...
📅 TONIGHT AT 7pm (UK)
Subscribe & turn on notifications 🔔 so you never miss an upload ➡️ youtube.com/@ModernSoftw...
Reposted by Kent Beck
If you are a follower of my YouTube channel and are interested in how and why we started, do check-out, my son, Tom's video on that topic.
Oh! and don't forget to "Like & Subscribe", maybe to both channels 😉😎
youtu.be/EWMwqp3gH7Q
Oh! and don't forget to "Like & Subscribe", maybe to both channels 😉😎
youtu.be/EWMwqp3gH7Q
The Real Story Behind the Success of Modern Software Engineering
YouTube video by Tom Farley
youtu.be
November 13, 2025 at 4:25 PM
If you are a follower of my YouTube channel and are interested in how and why we started, do check-out, my son, Tom's video on that topic.
Oh! and don't forget to "Like & Subscribe", maybe to both channels 😉😎
youtu.be/EWMwqp3gH7Q
Oh! and don't forget to "Like & Subscribe", maybe to both channels 😉😎
youtu.be/EWMwqp3gH7Q
Reposted by Kent Beck
I am very comfortable with my lack of gender.
Partially it’s just because I’ve been like this for decades. But it is also an act of faith.
My religion teaches that my experience of gender is holy and sanctified. To deny my experience would move away from the sacred.
www.uua.org/pressroom/pr...
Partially it’s just because I’ve been like this for decades. But it is also an act of faith.
My religion teaches that my experience of gender is holy and sanctified. To deny my experience would move away from the sacred.
www.uua.org/pressroom/pr...
www.uua.org
November 12, 2025 at 10:54 PM
I am very comfortable with my lack of gender.
Partially it’s just because I’ve been like this for decades. But it is also an act of faith.
My religion teaches that my experience of gender is holy and sanctified. To deny my experience would move away from the sacred.
www.uua.org/pressroom/pr...
Partially it’s just because I’ve been like this for decades. But it is also an act of faith.
My religion teaches that my experience of gender is holy and sanctified. To deny my experience would move away from the sacred.
www.uua.org/pressroom/pr...
Reposted by Kent Beck
Please join us in celebrating the newest presenter to join us on the Modern Software Engineering channel... @tastapod.com (Daniel Terhorst-North! 🎉
Dan is a technology and organizational change specialist who has been coaching, coding and consulting for over 30 years...
1/2
Dan is a technology and organizational change specialist who has been coaching, coding and consulting for over 30 years...
1/2
November 10, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Please join us in celebrating the newest presenter to join us on the Modern Software Engineering channel... @tastapod.com (Daniel Terhorst-North! 🎉
Dan is a technology and organizational change specialist who has been coaching, coding and consulting for over 30 years...
1/2
Dan is a technology and organizational change specialist who has been coaching, coding and consulting for over 30 years...
1/2
Doomsday scenario: we figure out that genies can cheaply file for software patents & suddenly everything in software is patented, stuff like lazy initialization. Then the genies spend all their time negotiating about patent rights & no time coding.
November 4, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Doomsday scenario: we figure out that genies can cheaply file for software patents & suddenly everything in software is patented, stuff like lazy initialization. Then the genies spend all their time negotiating about patent rights & no time coding.
Building Ikea furniture this weekend reminded me of two challenging life facts:
* If it's not aligned, more force won't help.
* If it's aligned, more force won't help.
Take that, #996.
* If it's not aligned, more force won't help.
* If it's aligned, more force won't help.
Take that, #996.
November 3, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Building Ikea furniture this weekend reminded me of two challenging life facts:
* If it's not aligned, more force won't help.
* If it's aligned, more force won't help.
Take that, #996.
* If it's not aligned, more force won't help.
* If it's aligned, more force won't help.
Take that, #996.
Reposted by Kent Beck
Interesting post: Pitching Hackathon Ideas: Oxymoron open.substack.com/pub/tidyfirs...
by @kentbeck.com
by @kentbeck.com
Pitching Hackathon Ideas: Oxymoron
The economic rationale for hackathons is that they create value by injecting uncertainty into development.
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Interesting post: Pitching Hackathon Ideas: Oxymoron open.substack.com/pub/tidyfirs...
by @kentbeck.com
by @kentbeck.com
If you demand that people control something they can't control, then expect them to control something else. If the mandate is "No Bugs!" without any social or technical change, then expect a response like "no *reported* bugs".
October 22, 2025 at 5:13 PM
If you demand that people control something they can't control, then expect them to control something else. If the mandate is "No Bugs!" without any social or technical change, then expect a response like "no *reported* bugs".
Reposted by Kent Beck
The flow of money represents the wants and needs of everyone in an economy.
The problem with having billionaires is the same problem as trying to add huge numbers to tiny numbers using floating point.
Except that in this case the “tiny numbers” that get lost are “normal people’s wants and needs”.
The problem with having billionaires is the same problem as trying to add huge numbers to tiny numbers using floating point.
Except that in this case the “tiny numbers” that get lost are “normal people’s wants and needs”.
One challenge I am finding on this campaign: I have great political metaphors that work for very niche audiences.
October 16, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The flow of money represents the wants and needs of everyone in an economy.
The problem with having billionaires is the same problem as trying to add huge numbers to tiny numbers using floating point.
Except that in this case the “tiny numbers” that get lost are “normal people’s wants and needs”.
The problem with having billionaires is the same problem as trying to add huge numbers to tiny numbers using floating point.
Except that in this case the “tiny numbers” that get lost are “normal people’s wants and needs”.
The number of assertions per test is power law distributed.
Continuing my series of posts attempting to (pseudo-)formalise the practice of Test-Driven Development, I want to look at a “rule” of TDD that’s actually helpful whether you’re going test-first or test-after.
codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/10/13/t...
codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/10/13/t...
TDD Under The Microscope #3 – One Outcome Per Test
Continuing my series of posts attempting to (pseudo-)formalise the practice of Test-Driven Development, I want to look at a “rule” of TDD that’s actually helpful whether you’…
codemanship.wordpress.com
October 14, 2025 at 12:44 AM
The number of assertions per test is power law distributed.
Reposted by Kent Beck
Refactoring is a key skill for good software design and it's also something you can get better at through practice. Check out my newly-published video training course which has lots of examples and exercises you can try courses.cd.training/courses/refa...
Refactoring Made Simple: Improve Code Design Safely
Learn refactoring, clean code, and software testing with Emily Bache. Explore tutorials and full courses on refactoring legacy code, coding best practices, and software engineering training for develo...
courses.cd.training
October 1, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Refactoring is a key skill for good software design and it's also something you can get better at through practice. Check out my newly-published video training course which has lots of examples and exercises you can try courses.cd.training/courses/refa...
Reposted by Kent Beck
Please join us in celebrating a new presenter joining us on Modern Software Engineering, Sam Newman
Technologist, independent consultant, speaker, and author of Building Microservices and Monolith To Microservices.
Welcome, Sam.
Technologist, independent consultant, speaker, and author of Building Microservices and Monolith To Microservices.
Welcome, Sam.
September 26, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Please join us in celebrating a new presenter joining us on Modern Software Engineering, Sam Newman
Technologist, independent consultant, speaker, and author of Building Microservices and Monolith To Microservices.
Welcome, Sam.
Technologist, independent consultant, speaker, and author of Building Microservices and Monolith To Microservices.
Welcome, Sam.
Augmented coding is like ocean swimming vs pool swimming. In the pool you have straight lines & plenty of feedback. In the ocean you have to pop your head up & see where you're going periodically to actually make progress towards a goal. More strokes faster isn't going to get you there faster.
September 17, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Augmented coding is like ocean swimming vs pool swimming. In the pool you have straight lines & plenty of feedback. In the ocean you have to pop your head up & see where you're going periodically to actually make progress towards a goal. More strokes faster isn't going to get you there faster.