1999

Extreme Programming Explained

Kent Beck published Extreme Programming Explained in 1999 — popularizing pair programming, TDD, and iterative delivery.

What it was for

Kent BeckXP influenced agileAn iterative software development style — short cycles, continuous feedback, and adaptive planning. Manifesto authors and every modern CI/CDCompact disc — an optical storage format for digital audio and data. pipeline. Beck also created JUnit — the ancestor of xUnit frameworks in every language.

People

  • Kent Beckauthor

Why it's here

Beck connected testing, pairing, and iteration into a named methodology.

Why it mattered

TDD and continuous integration became industry defaults.

What it solved

Waterfall planning failed for fast-changing software products.

Media

  • Kent Beck
    ImageKent Beck

    Improve It, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons