Martin Fowler
@martinfowler.com
Software Design Loudmouth. Works for Thoughtworks. Also hikes, watches theater, and plays modern board games. He/him.
host of https://martinfowler.com
host of https://martinfowler.com
NEW POST
Jim Highsmith sees teams turning into tribes wedded to adaptation or optimization - but we should manage the tension between them by blending modes of explore and exploit, based on uncertainty, risk, cost of change, & evidence threshold.
martinfowler.com/articles/sto...
Jim Highsmith sees teams turning into tribes wedded to adaptation or optimization - but we should manage the tension between them by blending modes of explore and exploit, based on uncertainty, risk, cost of change, & evidence threshold.
martinfowler.com/articles/sto...
Stop Picking Sides
Explore and Exploit are two operating modes that need to be blended for a particular activity.
martinfowler.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:11 PM
NEW POST
Jim Highsmith sees teams turning into tribes wedded to adaptation or optimization - but we should manage the tension between them by blending modes of explore and exploit, based on uncertainty, risk, cost of change, & evidence threshold.
martinfowler.com/articles/sto...
Jim Highsmith sees teams turning into tribes wedded to adaptation or optimization - but we should manage the tension between them by blending modes of explore and exploit, based on uncertainty, risk, cost of change, & evidence threshold.
martinfowler.com/articles/sto...
My favorite albums from last year. Balkan brass, an acoustic favorite of 80s returns, Ethio-jazz, Guatemalan singer-guitarist, jazz-rock/Indian classical fusion, and a unique male vocalist.
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
My favorite musical discoveries of 2025
Six favorite music acquisitions in 2025
martinfowler.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:02 PM
My favorite albums from last year. Balkan brass, an acoustic favorite of 80s returns, Ethio-jazz, Guatemalan singer-guitarist, jazz-rock/Indian classical fusion, and a unique male vocalist.
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Fragments: How AI is changing Anthropic's internal development, a detailed account of using LLM to program a knowledge management tool, obvious-easy-possible buckets for interface design, specifications cannot be complete, and lightweight tools to work with LLMs
martinfowler.com/fragments/20...
martinfowler.com/fragments/20...
Fragments: January 8
fragments 08 Jan 2026
martinfowler.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Fragments: How AI is changing Anthropic's internal development, a detailed account of using LLM to program a knowledge management tool, obvious-easy-possible buckets for interface design, specifications cannot be complete, and lightweight tools to work with LLMs
martinfowler.com/fragments/20...
martinfowler.com/fragments/20...
I continue to enjoy playing board games: here's my summary of 2025 gaming on my BGG blog.
boardgamegeek.com/blog/13064/b...
boardgamegeek.com/blog/13064/b...
My gaming 2025 | Martin's 7th Decade
boardgamegeek.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I continue to enjoy playing board games: here's my summary of 2025 gaming on my BGG blog.
boardgamegeek.com/blog/13064/b...
boardgamegeek.com/blog/13064/b...
Reposted by Martin Fowler
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
Reposted by Martin Fowler
Tonight at around 1815 EDT, we are featuring #Indonesia again!
With the 3rd Edition delivering, now seemed a great time to revisit the all-timer, but now, in green & 4k!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkI5...
See y’all tonight!
@jeroendoumen.bsky.social
@martinfowler.com
With the 3rd Edition delivering, now seemed a great time to revisit the all-timer, but now, in green & 4k!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkI5...
See y’all tonight!
@jeroendoumen.bsky.social
@martinfowler.com
Indonesia - 3rd Edition - 4p Teaching, Play-through & Roundtable Discussion by Heavy Cardboard
YouTube video by Heavy Cardboard
www.youtube.com
December 29, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Tonight at around 1815 EDT, we are featuring #Indonesia again!
With the 3rd Edition delivering, now seemed a great time to revisit the all-timer, but now, in green & 4k!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkI5...
See y’all tonight!
@jeroendoumen.bsky.social
@martinfowler.com
With the 3rd Edition delivering, now seemed a great time to revisit the all-timer, but now, in green & 4k!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkI5...
See y’all tonight!
@jeroendoumen.bsky.social
@martinfowler.com
Fragments: Illustrated guide to mainframe modernization, what the second value of code reviews means for LLMs, LLMs write and then port an HTML parser
martinfowler.com/fragments/20...
martinfowler.com/fragments/20...
Fragments: December 16
fragments 16 Dec 2025
martinfowler.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Fragments: Illustrated guide to mainframe modernization, what the second value of code reviews means for LLMs, LLMs write and then port an HTML parser
martinfowler.com/fragments/20...
martinfowler.com/fragments/20...
Fragments: The nature of AI's prose, what makes good tests, EUs fines on X aren't about free speech, and the perils of being a reverse-centaur
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Fragments Dec 11
a short post
martinfowler.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Fragments: The nature of AI's prose, what makes good tests, EUs fines on X aren't about free speech, and the perils of being a reverse-centaur
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Some fragments on AI, its impact on maintainability, the dangers from its jailbreaking, developer workflows - and how it can be an ally against Parkinson's disease
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Fragments Dec 4
a short post
martinfowler.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Some fragments on AI, its impact on maintainability, the dangers from its jailbreaking, developer workflows - and how it can be an ally against Parkinson's disease
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Thoughtworks Radar, on a podcast with @gergely.pragmaticengineer.com , another way at looking at feature/time curves, and the return of @heavycardboard.bsky.social
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Fragments Nov 19
a short post
martinfowler.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Thoughtworks Radar, on a podcast with @gergely.pragmaticengineer.com , another way at looking at feature/time curves, and the return of @heavycardboard.bsky.social
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Reposted by Martin Fowler
Tomorrow - pod episode with @martinfowler.com coming!
November 18, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Tomorrow - pod episode with @martinfowler.com coming!
Today, @nicolefv.bsky.social and Abi Noda's new book "Frictionless" is officially published. I liked it enough to write a foreword for it:
martinfowler.com/articles/fri...
martinfowler.com/articles/fri...
My Foreword to "Frictionless"
A book that describes how to best improve productivity by identifying and removing friction.
martinfowler.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Today, @nicolefv.bsky.social and Abi Noda's new book "Frictionless" is officially published. I liked it enough to write a foreword for it:
martinfowler.com/articles/fri...
martinfowler.com/articles/fri...
Unmesh Joshi finds LLMs to be a useful tool, but explains why their help becomes illusory if they shortcut the essential learning loop of our professional practice.
martinfowler.com/articles/llm...
martinfowler.com/articles/llm...
The Learning Loop and LLMs
How continuous learning shapes effective software development with LLMs
martinfowler.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Unmesh Joshi finds LLMs to be a useful tool, but explains why their help becomes illusory if they shortcut the essential learning loop of our professional practice.
martinfowler.com/articles/llm...
martinfowler.com/articles/llm...
Concerns about LLM-enabled browsers, the different perspectives on AI-Coding, and looking back at the loss of an iconic helmet.
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Fragments Nov 3
a short post
martinfowler.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Concerns about LLM-enabled browsers, the different perspectives on AI-Coding, and looking back at the loss of an iconic helmet.
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Reposted by Martin Fowler
There's got to be a massive chance of public backlash against all this AI assistant stuff
It's totally being forced down people's throats and it barely works yet
Those pushing it have a massive megaphone
But one killerapp of capitalism is people vote with their wallets
It's totally being forced down people's throats and it barely works yet
Those pushing it have a massive megaphone
But one killerapp of capitalism is people vote with their wallets
October 28, 2025 at 6:24 PM
There's got to be a massive chance of public backlash against all this AI assistant stuff
It's totally being forced down people's throats and it barely works yet
Those pushing it have a massive megaphone
But one killerapp of capitalism is people vote with their wallets
It's totally being forced down people's throats and it barely works yet
Those pushing it have a massive megaphone
But one killerapp of capitalism is people vote with their wallets
NEW POST
Agentic AI systems are amazing, but so are the security issues they raise. Korny has written a great primer on the problem - and what we can do to mitigate it.
Agentic AI systems are amazing, but so are the security issues they raise. Korny has written a great primer on the problem - and what we can do to mitigate it.
I've shared an updated version of my Agentic AI and Security article on @martinfowler.com's website:
martinfowler.com/articles/age...
(This is based on all the great research being done by others especially @simonwillison.net - my aim is to provide an accessible overview for others)
martinfowler.com/articles/age...
(This is based on all the great research being done by others especially @simonwillison.net - my aim is to provide an accessible overview for others)
October 28, 2025 at 1:27 PM
NEW POST
Agentic AI systems are amazing, but so are the security issues they raise. Korny has written a great primer on the problem - and what we can do to mitigate it.
Agentic AI systems are amazing, but so are the security issues they raise. Korny has written a great primer on the problem - and what we can do to mitigate it.
Reposted by Martin Fowler
The #1 criteria for my browser is that I trust it, and it’s secure. It’s logged into my email, Stripe account, stores my passwords and credit cards.
A browser is useful if it does all these.
These AI browsers are interesting but… with prompt injections, no way I trust them…
A browser is useful if it does all these.
These AI browsers are interesting but… with prompt injections, no way I trust them…
October 22, 2025 at 7:16 PM
The #1 criteria for my browser is that I trust it, and it’s secure. It’s logged into my email, Stripe account, stores my passwords and credit cards.
A browser is useful if it does all these.
These AI browsers are interesting but… with prompt injections, no way I trust them…
A browser is useful if it does all these.
These AI browsers are interesting but… with prompt injections, no way I trust them…
Reposted by Martin Fowler
The primary and most pervasive form of speech suppression that this Administration employs is chill; it's pervasive but much harder to quantify than outright censorship. But stories like this must be happening everywhere.
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Opinion | My Bosses Were Afraid of Crossing Trump. So, I Quit.
A veteran journalist opens up on the censorship that he says led to his resignation.
www.politico.com
October 22, 2025 at 4:55 PM
The primary and most pervasive form of speech suppression that this Administration employs is chill; it's pervasive but much harder to quantify than outright censorship. But stories like this must be happening everywhere.
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
www.politico.com/news/magazin...
👀Domains and Bounded Contexts in DDD, tech industry focusing on the wrong kind of AI, story of Direct File, and U.S. government crippling its cybersecurity
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Fragments and Links
a short post
martinfowler.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:05 PM
👀Domains and Bounded Contexts in DDD, tech industry focusing on the wrong kind of AI, story of Direct File, and U.S. government crippling its cybersecurity
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
martinfowler.com/articles/202...
Reposted by Martin Fowler
„…the tech industry should stop focusing so heavily on these one-size-fits-all tools, and instead concentrate on narrow, specialized A.I. tools engineered for particular problems. Because, frankly, they’re often more effective.“ www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/o...
Opinion | Silicon Valley Is Investing in the Wrong A.I.
www.nytimes.com
October 17, 2025 at 9:18 AM
„…the tech industry should stop focusing so heavily on these one-size-fits-all tools, and instead concentrate on narrow, specialized A.I. tools engineered for particular problems. Because, frankly, they’re often more effective.“ www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/o...
Reposted by Martin Fowler
This is so good
October 16, 2025 at 1:47 PM
This is so good
Reposted by Martin Fowler
I tried to make sense of "spec-driven development" by looking at 3 tools: Amazon's Kiro, GitHub's spec-kit, and the Tessl Framework
martinfowler.com/articles/exp...
martinfowler.com/articles/exp...
Understanding Spec-Driven-Development: Kiro, spec-kit, and Tessl
Notes from my Thoughtworks colleagues on AI-assisted software delivery
martinfowler.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:11 PM
I tried to make sense of "spec-driven development" by looking at 3 tools: Amazon's Kiro, GitHub's spec-kit, and the Tessl Framework
martinfowler.com/articles/exp...
martinfowler.com/articles/exp...
Can we use AI to help services update with their templates?
One of the challenges with service templates is that once a team instantiated a service with a template, it’s tedious to feed template updates back to those services. I wonder if anchoring AI agents to a template or reference application could help make that easier? martinfowler.com/articles/exp...
September 25, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Can we use AI to help services update with their templates?