Kent Beck | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1961 (age 62–63) |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | University of Oregon |
| Known for | Extreme programming, Software design patterns, JUnit |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Software engineering |
| Institutions | Gusto |
Kent Beck (born 1961) is an American software engineer and the creator of extreme programming,[1] a software development methodology that eschews rigid formal specification for a collaborative and iterative design process. Beck was one of the 17 original signatories of the Agile Manifesto,[1] the founding document for agile software development. Extreme and Agile methods are closely associated with Test-Driven Development (TDD), of which Beck is perhaps the leading proponent.
Beck pioneered software design patterns, as well as the commercial application of Smalltalk. He wrote the SUnit unit testing framework for Smalltalk, which spawned the xUnit series of frameworks, notably JUnit for Java, which Beck wrote with Erich Gamma. Beck popularized CRC cards with Ward Cunningham, the inventor of the wiki.
He lives in San Francisco, California and previously worked at Facebook.[2] In 2019, Beck joined Gusto as a software fellow and coach, where he coaches engineering teams as they build out payroll systems for small businesses.[3]
- ^ a b "Extreme Programming", Computerworld (online), 2005, webpage: Computerworld-appdev-92.
- ^ "Given my newly independent status after seven years at Facebook..."
- ^ "Meet the influential programmer who's helping $3.8 billion Gusto make sure that its software always stays ahead of the times". Business Insider. September 4, 2019.