kent-implementation-patterns

kent-implementation-patterns

A Claude Code plugin that applies Kent Beck's Implementation Patterns (2007) as a systematic lens for designing new features and reviewing code — so the result communicates intent and is cheap to change.

A tribute to Kent Beck's book Implementation Patterns. All ideas are his — please read the original (see credits below).

Instead of ad-hoc, instinct-driven review/design, the skill runs a fixed lens:

Values (Communication · Simplicity · Flexibility) → Principles (Local Consequences · Minimize Repetition · Logic & Data Together · Symmetry · Declarative Expression · Rate of Change) → Patterns (the ~77-pattern catalog, grouped by the principle each one serves).

Layout

.claude-plugin/
  plugin.json            # plugin manifest
  marketplace.json       # local marketplace entry (for install/testing)
skills/
  kent-implementation-patterns/
    SKILL.md             # the lens + design process + review process + worked example
    patterns.md          # full catalog reference (Class/State/Behavior/Method/Collections/Frameworks)

Install

This plugin is published at github.com/pditommaso/kent-implementation-patterns.

Install it with:

/plugin marketplace add pditommaso/kent-implementation-patterns

When that's done, run the install command:

/plugin install kent-implementation-patterns@kent-implementation-patterns-marketplace

Test locally

Clone this repo and start Claude Code pointing at the clone:

claude --plugin-dir ~/Projects/kent-implementation-patterns

The plugin loads and enables automatically for that session — no /plugin install. Just ask Claude to "review this code" or "design this feature" to trigger the skill. After editing SKILL.md or patterns.md, run /reload-plugins to pick up changes.

Credits & tribute

This plugin is a tribute to Kent Beck and his book Implementation Patterns (Addison-Wesley Professional, 2007). Every value, principle, and pattern encoded here is his work — distilled into a form Claude can apply during design and review. All credit for the ideas belongs to him; this plugin only reorganizes them as a lens.

If you find this useful, please read the original book — it is short, deeply practical, and far richer than any distillation. The reasoning, stories, and nuance behind each pattern are the real value, and they reward reading end to end.

Kent Beck, Implementation Patterns, Addison-Wesley Professional, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0321413093 · ISBN-10: 0321413091

Kent Beck is also the creator of Extreme Programming and a pioneer of test-driven development. Thank you, Kent. 🙏