Alistair Cockburn (/ˈælɪstər ˈkoʊbərn/ AL-ist-ər KOH-bərn) is an American computer scientist, known as one of the initiators of the agile movement in software development.

[2] Cockburn started studying the methods of object oriented (OO) software development for IBM.

He obtained his degree in computer science at the Case Western Reserve University.

The Crystal family is colour-coded to signify the "weight" of methodology needed.

Cockburn presented his Hexagonal Architecture (2005) as a solution to problems with traditional layering, coupling and entanglement.