Kent Beck 🌻 @KentBeck Twitter profile

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Kent Beck 🌻

4 years

I am continuing work on "Tidy First? An Exercise In Empirical Software Design" as a @SubstackInc . No paid tier yet, but that's where book chapters will be appearing. Sign up here: .

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

1 year

I’ve been reluctant to try ChatGPT. Today I got over that reluctance. Now I understand why I was reluctant. The value of 90% of my skills just dropped to $0. The leverage for the remaining 10% went up 1000x. I need to recalibrate.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

Engineering turns ideas into reality. Science turns reality into ideas.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

Technical debt

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

8 years

Being proud of 100% test coverage is like being proud of reading every word in the newspaper. Some are more important than others.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

My vote for most valuable programming skill? Walking. I spent 15 minutes going and picking up my laundry and figured out how to avoid 10 hours of programming. 40:1!

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

A 12-month roadmap is like a box of a dozen donuts & you can only eat 1 a month. By the time you get to 10, 11, 12 you'd really rather eat a fresh one. But no, you're in the Clean Plate Club so you choke 'em down.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

The goal of software design is to create chunks or slices that fit into a human mind. The software keeps growing but the human mind maxes out, so we have to keep chunking and slicing differently if we want to keep making changes.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

If there’s one lesson I would like the next generation of developers to learn, it is to spend less time doing hard things and more time making hard things easy. Customers benefit from the former. Customers and peers and we ourselves benefit from the latter.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

12 years

for each desired change, make the change easy (warning: this may be hard), then make the easy change

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

Spotify didn’t implement the Spotify model by copying Spotify. Why do folks at other companies think they can implement the Spotify model by copying Spotify?

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

2 years

"Outsourcing unit testing" -- wtaf? That's like wanting to be fit so you pay someone else to exercise.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

1 year

@DeanPreston As a resident, you answer does not meet my needs. I want to park my car free from fear. If you can't help me do that, why exactly are you in office?

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

My code can’t be tidier than my thinking. The purpose of my tidying is to clarify my thinking by manipulating the code. The code ends up better, but because I understand more not because I somehow forced it to be better in spite of my confusion.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

Tests should be coupled to the behavior of code and decoupled from the structure of code. Seeing tests that fail on both counts.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

Pardon me, @Twitter , can you take my check mark off and give it to these folks? Nobody is trying to harass and impersonate me, so they need it more than I do.

Ian Coldwater 📦💥

@IanColdwater

4 years

This isn't even about me. There are SO MANY women in tech who should've been verified a long time ago: @alicegoldfuss @sarah_edo @b0rk @hacks4pancakes @realsexycyborg @techgirl1908 @nicolefv @ashleymcnamara @abbyfuller @sigje @lara_hogan @editingemily @girlgerms @DynamicWebPaige

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

When you try to make fewer mistakes by making fewer mistakes you slow feedback, learn less, and make more mistakes. When you speed feedback you learn more and make fewer mistakes.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

12 years

first you learn the value of abstraction, then you learn the cost of abstraction, then you're ready to engineer

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

Purpose is a surer path to productivity than pressure. Pressure keeps knocking you off the path. Purpose keeps bringing you back onto the path.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

Don’t assume you need a big solution just because you have a big problem. Even that big solution will be built one step at a time. Choose a feedback loop that also operates at the scale of those steps.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

I'm bad at handling a bunch of complexity at once, so I've collected strategies for partitioning complexity:

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

Acknowledging that a failure is a failure is less demoralizing than pretending it's a success.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

I’ve long said that the goal of interviewing for a job is not to get hired, it is for both parties to make fully-informed decisions. Turns out this philosophy is easier to apply when you haven’t just gotten turned down 5 times in a row.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

Be careful how you talk to yourself. You’re always listening.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

Re: FP & TDD. More important than tests vs types is the principle of double checking. If you say something twice in independently derived ways, you're more likely to be correct than if you just say it once. Tests are a form of double checking. So are types.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

I’ve been thinking about the properties that make tests valuable. Here is my list.

Test Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence

link.medium.com

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

2 years

Talking with a senior engineer I noticed a pattern. There were bugs. Nobody knew how many. They weren't on anyone's roadmap. So the engineer dug in. Discovered curious & horrifying facts. Discovered a lack of organizational urgency. Fixed stuff. Encouraged others to fix stuff.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

Criticism isn't just disliking things. Arts schools teach the skill & the respect for the work. Computer science schools don't.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

"How long is it going to take to drive?" "Drive where?" "Nobody knows, we just need to know how long it is going to take." ...I'm too sad, you finish this...

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

10 years

the *craft* of programming begins with empathy, not formatting or languages or tools or algorithms or data structures

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

The purpose of your conference paper abstract is to get your paper in the A Pile and keep it out of the B Pile. The sentences are: * The problem * Why the problem is a problem * One Startling Sentence * The implication of the One Startling Sentence

Jo Vermeulen

@jozilla

6 years

@NElmqvist I really like @KentBeck 's 4-sentence abstract (item #4 ), seems like a good companion article to this one:

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

If we’re using technology X poorly and are frustrated, then moving to Y won’t help. We won’t experience frustration for a while, but only because we are distracted. All the same dysfunctions will reappear. Instead, start working better and then re-evaluate the technology.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

Big changes are an illusion. All changes are small. There are only longer and shorter feedback cycles.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

Software design thought for the day: just because two elements are *connected* that doesn’t mean they are *coupled*. Reducing connection isn’t an effective goal. Reducing actual coupling (where changing one element necessitates changing another) is.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

I've seen people trashing Mark Zuckerberg as evil and greedy. A simpler story works for me. He is profoundly unprepared for the power he wields. I'm not sure who *would* be prepared. At this critical juncture he is making mistakes with worldwide consequences.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

And the tale of his days at Facebook were two thousand five hundred and ninety three. Time for some career exploration as an independent. Expect to see me try some wacky stuff.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

"When engagement is your only metric you're going to end up re-inventing addiction" -- @keithmadams

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

There needs to be a word for "experiment whose outcome was not what was hoped for". Calling them "mistakes" or "failures" weakens the meanings of those valuable words.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

Being busy is a problem, not a solution

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

“Pull requests are an improvement on working alone but not on working together”

Those pesky pull request reviews

No one wants to review pull requests. This is a sign of a deeper problem than “people aren’t following the process”

jessitron.com

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

Let's say you interested in TDD but you just can't figure out how to write a test before you write the code. Here's a foolproof exercise that let's you experience the TDD workflow in spite of that block:

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

I'm I the only one who finds, "Investing in improving structure," leads to better feelings, decisions, and outcomes than, "Paying off technical debt"?

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

OH: XP is the Betamax of Agile It hurts cause it’s true

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

"Do it right and you won't have to do it over". Yeah, until "right" changes. And it always changes.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

P1: Aren't you ashamed of writing code like this? P2: What do you mean by "this"? P1: Sky-high cyclomatic complexity, inconsistent naming, & duplication. P2: Oh, I thought you meant "profitable", and the answer is no I'm not ashamed.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

8 years

If you know how to design the software, design the software. Otherwise implement now, learn, and design later.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

10 months

Dear Software Architects, If you want to write ADRs, write ADRs. But please also include tracking. If no one reads the ADRs, consider not writing them in future. Time spent writing ADRs incurs opportunity cost. Make sure you're getting something for the price.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

2 years

Pushing The "Hardcore" Button. There are times in my career when I would have already pushed the Hardcore Button. My self-image was based on out-working, out-intensitying everyone. I wouldn't push it now, but I can understand if someone else does. Here are 3 strategies.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

Don’t bring opinions to a data fight.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

I unexpectedly have two weeks free before I start my new job (more on that later). I decided to time-box write the book on software design that’s been ripening in my head for a decade or two. Here’s the outline:

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

“You are over-qualified for the position and we don’t think you’d be satisfied” is de facto age discrimination

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

9 years

Alternative to estimates: do the most important thing until either it ships or it is no longer the most important thing

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

I don’t often need recursion but when I need it I *really* need it.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

All systems are created incrementally, one character typed at a time. The choice is length and scope of feedback loops.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

Happy 20th, JUnit! Thank you @ErichGamma , a great pairing partner whether sitting in a plane, on an Alp, or by the Limmat.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

Does everybody not know the trick of coding backwards? Start coding with "return result". Then the previous line "result = ...". Then the previous line and so on back to the beginning. Try it! Would make a great TikTok.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

OH from a student: “it’s like the code is in a perpetual state of waiting to be refactored” You have snatched the pebble from my hand.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

I made a big mistake when I called them "iterations". I should have just said, "weeks". Then the whole iteration length debate, where there are weird incentives encouraging too-long feedback cycles, would just be absurd.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

You can't fix culture with policy.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

2 years

Layoff announcement 101: do *not*, under any circumstances, ever ever mention how difficult the process or decision has been for you. No. One. Cares. No one is going to feel sorry for you. People will blame you more, not less. Just say you made a business decision and here it is.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

Output != outcome but !output == !outcome.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

The most entertaining aspect of #GameStop for me has been watching the hedge funds who thought they were the casino suddenly realize that nope they are punters too.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

Writing tests is an exercise in reversibility. We put tests in place so making mistakes in the behavior of code has ~0 cost. It’s expensive, but compared to what?

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

It's easier to get an idea out of my head than let it ruin my weekend rattling around. Here's one: my take on why moving to micro-services is neither quick nor easy.

Monolith -> Services: Theory & Practice

How can we get from a monolith to micro-services quickly?

medium.com

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

A plan with no slack is less a plan and more a gestating disappointment

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

1. Change the code as usual 2. Write a test that only passes after the change 3. Revert to before 1 4. Type the test again (copy/paste is cheating & invalidates the warranty of the exercise) 5. Make it compile by changing the code 6. See it fail 7. Change the code to make it pass

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

I saw an old friend who is terminally ill. They are just doing their thing. I thought, “Why aren’t you out living it up?” That’s backwards. The question is why am I not doing something I would continue doing if I was diagnosed?

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

Smart ≠ right

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

duplication of effort isn't bad if: 1) it's not too much effort 2) it reduces risk or improves exploration 3) coordinating is expensive

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

No justice, no peace

Peter Daou

@peterdaou

4 years

DON'T LOOK AWAY. The cop groped her and when she tried to break away, she was beaten while standing still. THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO CRUSH DISSENT LIKE A DICTATORSHIP

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

OH: “you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate”. Wisdom from the lips of an investment banker.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

Hey, @Medium . Why would I want my writing to be part of your "metered paywall"? I can see the benefit for you if it was, but I want everyone to be able to see what I write. Are you promising me millions of dollars for my 1000 readers? I don't get what's in it for me.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

Drives me bonkers to see a function that takes a handful of arguments also take “args”, a hash with fixed keys. Yo, your function takes 15 arguments. Be explicit about it. There’s lots you can do once you admit you have a problem.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

This is pure @martinfowler at his fowleriest

Luca Leone

@luc4leone

6 years

so clear. new book on refactoring by @martinfowler and @KentBeck

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

8 years

in addition to all the "30 under 30" lists, i'd like to see a "50 over 50" list of folks who are still producing in tech. #moralHazard

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

10 years

pair programming is not a "go faster" strategy, it is a "waste less" strategy (which often results in going faster)

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

Earn or Learn or Move

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

8 years

Sometimes working extra hours makes a big difference. Don't work extra hours if this isn't one of those times.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

Useful skills: * Stopping to think when thinking would help * Just doing something when thinking wouldn't help

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

if you treat people like chess pieces, don't be surprised if they show the initiative and creativity of chess pieces

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

8 years

The only way it's all going to go according to plan is if you don't learn anything

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

Mystery: "Get it done faster/sooner/more" Why? What happens after we get it done faster/sooner/more? I need to remember to ask this question. If there's no good answer then this is just someone pushing their anxiety down a power gradient.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

7 years

Autonomy without accountability is just vacation

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

10 months

Given the cost of blocking, asynchronous code reviews, I'm surprised more teams haven't experimented with eliminating them. What bad things would happen if you just integrated changes? Are those bad things happening already? What else could you do to avoid those problems?

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

9 years

Work in small increments. Be kind. Be honest. The rest is details. Let's have a conference about that.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

1 year

Software design is preparation for change.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

2 years

This is what senior engineers do. No particular organizational incentives, just pride & curiosity.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

My experiment fighting jetlag with chocolate is a rousing success. I’m not sleeping any better but I’ve eaten a *lot* of chocolate.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

Along "make the hard change easy then make the easy to change" lines, I found this from 20 years ago.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

5 years

Big architectural changes that start with small, safe steps can start right now. This minute. We can integrate before lunch and deploy on a Friday.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

1 year

Experts seldom solve problems by stretching their skills to the limit. First they spend considerable effort decomposing the problem into tasks that can be solved with ordinary skills.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

2 years

Whenever you push a button and the light doesn’t come on there are 3 options: • The button is broken • The light is broken • You didn’t actually push the button

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

All the talk about the Four Rules of Simple Design got me inspired, so I added a reference card to my Etsy store: (For those of you not following along at home, my Etsy store is a sample 3X Exploration.)

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

I'm not proposing to charge you $X for an hour, day, week of my time. I'm proposing to charge you $X for the influence *you* asked *me* to have on you and your team. I'm happy to recommend good people who work for less.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

Move fast and break small things

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

I can’t stop sighing. Apparently I held my breath for 4 years.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

Coupling vs cohesion. Coupling: • Can be hard to find • Can be really hard &/| expensive to eliminate. Cohesive sub-elements are: • Usually easy to find • Cheap to achieve, & • Help you find de-coupling.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

3 years

Just learned a beautiful new phrase: execution through momentum. When a team finds its rhythm you don't have to work to keep it going, you just have to work to keep it from being disturbed.

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

6 years

Mark this day on your calendars: I agree with Mr. Alan Cooper. The foundation of agile is programming together. Don’t build the house without first laying the foundation. (Once you lay the foundation you may not need a fancy house.)

Alan Cooper

@MrAlanCooper

6 years

When I started programming, it was a solo skill, performed by individuals, with little or no sharing and virtually no collaboration. A culture was built around those facts. 1

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Kent Beck 🌻

@KentBeck

4 years

“Shame and Boundaries”. Litter guy violates norms. Pick up lady holds him to account. Litter guy feels ashamed and tries to put it on pick up lady. Finger guy sets boundaries—“the violation, the shame, and the processing of the shame are your responsibility, litter guy”.

宋　文洲

@sohbunshu

4 years

やめるんだ

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