Extreme
Programming (XP) is actually a deliberate and disciplined approach to software
development. About six years old, it has already been proven at many companies
of all different sizes and industries worldwide. XP is successful because it stresses
customer satisfaction. The methodology is designed to deliver the software your
customer needs when it is needed. XP empowers software developers to confidently
respond to changing customer requirements, even late in the life cycle. This methodology
also emphasizes teamwork. Managers, customers, and developers are all part of
a team dedicated to delivering quality software. XP implements a simple, yet effective
way to enable groupware style development. XP
improves a software project in four essential ways; communication, simplicity
feedback, and courage. XP programmers communicate with their customers and fellow
programmers. They keep their design simple and clean. They get feedback by testing
their software starting on day one. They deliver the system to the customers as
early as possible and implement changes as suggested. With this foundation XP
programmers are able to courageously respond to changing requirements and technology.
XP is different. It is a lot like a jig saw puzzle.
There are many small pieces.
Individually the pieces make no sense, but when combined together a complete picture
can be seen. This is a significant departure from traditional software development
methods and ushers in a change in the way we program.If
one or two developers have become bottlenecks because they own the core classes
in the system and must make all the changes, then try collective code ownership.
You will also need unit tests. Let everyone make changes to the core classes whenever
they need to. You could continue this way until no problems are left. Then just
add the remaining practices as you can. The first practice you add will seem easy.
You are solving a large problem with a little extra effort. The second might seem
easy too. But at some point between having a few XP rules and all of the XP rules
it will take some persistence to make it work. Your problems will have been solved
and your project is under control. It might seem good to abandon the new methodology
and go back to what is familiar and comfortable, but continuing does pay off in
the end.
