December 2002
Volume 5 • Number 1

Contents

SPECIAL REVIEW FEATURE
Extreme Programming Series

by Pieter Botman and Ray Schneider

In the fast-paced world of computer programming extreme programming (XP), only a few years old, is no longer considered new. It is one of a number of competing agile methods that aim to streamline software production and trim time to market. Practitioners, eager to adopt methods that could make their life easier, are trying to understand if XP makes the cut.

Currently there are eight books in Addison-Wesley’s Extreme Programming Series, each offering a different perspective on XP. Often there is a sharp divergence between methodology texts (perhaps meant as reference works), and more practical texts, focusing on implementation by the individual practitioner. These XP texts, all grounded in general XP principles, are full of explanations and anecdotes aimed at the working programmer. The following capsule reviews, while limited in length and scope, aim to characterize the texts in the series, presenting their viewpoints, utility, and relative strengths.

XP is described by Kent Beck as being composed of four values (communication, simplicity, feedback, and courage); five principles (rapid feedback, assume simplicity, incremental change, embrace change, and quality work); four activities (coding, testing, listening, and designing); and the 12 practices of extreme programming: 1) planning game, 2) small releases, 3) use of metaphor, 4) simple design, 5) testing, 6) refactoring, 7) pair programming, 8) collective ownership, 9) continuous integration, 10) 40-hour week, 11) on-site customer, and 12) coding standards. To this constellation of values, principles, activities, and practices, Beck adds strategies that are derived from experience.

Together they create a synergism, an emergent capability greater than the sum of the parts. Beck claims that XP “addresses risk at all levels of the development process, is also very productive, produces high-quality software, and is a lot of fun to execute.” Many of the critics of XP consider the claims implausible. The enthusiasm of practitioners and the growing interest they have engendered make reading at least some of these books a “must.”

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