Home > Work > Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change (The XP Series)
1 " Responsibility cannot be assigned; it can only be accepted. If someone tries to give you responsibility, only you can decide if you are responsible or if you aren't. "
― Kent Beck , Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change (The XP Series)
2 " Given the choice between an extremely skilled loner and a competent-but-social programmer, XP teams consistently choose the more social candidate. The best interviewing technique is to have the candidate work with the team for a day. Pair programming provides an excellent test of technical and social skills. "
3 " Saying that programmers should just accomplish twice as much doesn't work. They can gain skills and effectiveness, but they cannot get more done on demand. More time at the desk does not equal increased productivity for creative work. "
4 " The XP philosophy is to start where you are now and move towards the ideal. From where you are now, could you improve a little bit? "
5 " I've sat through far too many "crying in the beer" sessions where all the energy for change was dissipated in the intensity of the complaining. Once you see an idea for improvement that makes sense to you, do it. "
6 " McConnell writes, "In ten years the pendulum has swung from 'design everything' to 'design nothing.' But the alternative to BDUF [Big Design Up Front] isn't no design up front, it's a Little Design Up Front (LDUF) or Enough Design Up Front (ENUF)." This is a strawman argument. The alternative to designing before implementing is designing after implementing. "
7 " the XP strategy is "design always. "
8 " Software development is a game of insight, and insight comes to the prepared, rested, relaxed mind. "
9 " Without planning, we are individuals with haphazard connections and effectiveness. We are a team when we plan and work in harmony. "
10 " If you have a month to plan a project in detail, spend it on four one-week iterations developing while you improve your estimates. If you have a week to plan a project, hold five one-day iterations. Feedback cycles give you information and the experience to make accurate estimates. "
11 " Pair programmers: Keep each other on task. Brainstorm refinements to the system. Clarify ideas. Take initiative when their partner is stuck, thus lowering frustration. Hold each other accountable to the team's practices. Pairing "
12 " Sit Together Develop in an open space big enough for the whole team. Meet the need for privacy and "owned" space by having small private spaces nearby or by limiting work hours so team members can get their privacy needs met elsewhere. "
13 " Change always starts at home. The only person you can actually change is yourself. No matter how functional or dysfunctional your organization, you can begin applying XP for yourself. Anyone on the team can begin changing his own behavior. Programmers can start writing tests first. Testers can automate their tests. Customers can write stories and set clear priorities. Executives can expect transparency. Dictating practices to a team destroys trust and creates resentment. Executives can encourage team responsibility and accountability. Whether the team produces these with XP, a better waterfall, or utter chaos is up to them. Using XP, teams can produce dramatic improvements in the areas of defects, estimation, and productivity. "
14 " Beta testing is a symptom of weak testing practices and poor communication with customers. "
15 " If there are forms of testing, like stress and load testing, that find defects after development is "complete," bring them into the development cycle. Run load and stress tests continuously and automatically. "
16 " In software development, “perfect” is a verb, not an adjective. There is no perfect process. There is no perfect design. There are no perfect stories. You can, however, perfect your process, your design, and your stories. "
17 " No matter the circumstance you can always improve. You can always start improving with yourself. You can always start improving today. "
18 " Without the adjustment, you are working under a lie. Everyone knows it and has to hide to protect themselves. This is no way to get good software done and deployed; "
19 " Cards on a wall is a way of practicing transparency, valuing and respecting the input of each team member. The project manager has the task of translating the cards into whatever format is expected by the rest of the organization. "
20 " It’s not my job to “manage” someone else’s expectations. It’s their job to manage their own expectations. It’s my job to do my best and to communicate clearly. "
