Martin Fowler (QM 1975-82)
Chief Scientist, ThoughtWorks
Martin Fowler, renowned author, software consultant and speaker, brings two decades of experience helping corporations utilise object technology for mission-critical information systems. He was one of the authors of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development, and has written seven books on software development and collected awards for them. He is also a highly regarded speaker at international conferences, although these days he prefers to stay off the stage.
His main interest is to understand how to design software systems, so as to maximize the productivity of development teams. In doing this he has looked to understand the patterns of good software design, and also the processes that support software design. He finds he learns a lot from listening to the experiences of his fellow ThoughtWorkers: digging for useful ideas and communicating them to the wider world.
Martin writes:
I grew up in Walsall, England, going to Queen Mary's Grammar School (1975 -82). I went to University College London from 1983-6 where I got a BSc (ENG) in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. After graduating I stayed in London working for a while at Coopers & Lybrand, and a small tech company called Ptech, before becoming an independent consultant in 1991. I moved to Massachusetts in 1994 continuing as an independent consultant until I joined ThoughtWorks in 2000. I became an American citizen in 2005 (I retain my UK citizenship as well).
I live in Melrose, a pleasant suburb of Boston, Massachusetts with my wife Cindy, a structural engineer. We enjoy hiking, both in New England and as a central part of our vacations. I indulge in photography, which I like to inflict on my readers. Since secondary school I have enjoyed strategic board games, and have recently become a frequent player on screen with Heavy Cardboard. We often head into Boston to explore the small but vibrant theatre scene. I enjoy living in the US even though I miss the particular beauties of the English countryside.
