The Art of Agile Development

The Road to Mastery

The core thesis of this book is that mastering the art of agile development requires real-world experience using a specific, well-defined agile method. I’ve chosen Extreme Programming for this purpose. It has several advantages:

• Of all the agile methods I know, XP is the most complete. It places a strong emphasis on technical practices in addition to the more common teamwork and structural practices.

• XP has undergone intense scrutiny. There are thousands of pages of explanations, experience reports, and critiques out there. Its capabilities and limitations are very well understood.

• I have a lot of experience with XP, which allows me to share insights and practical tips that will help you apply XP more easily.

To master the art of agile development—or simply to use XP to be more successful—follow these steps:

Important

Teams new to XP often underapply its practices.

1. Decide why you want to use agile development. Will it make your team and organization more successful? How? (For ideas, see Enter Agility” in Chapter 1.)

2. Determine whether this book’s approach will work for your team. (See Is XP Right for Us?” in Chapter 4.)

3. Adopt as many of XP’s practices as you can. (See Chapter 4.) XP’s practices are self-reinforcing, so it works best when you use all of them together.

4. Follow the XP practices rigorously and consistently. (See Part II.) If a practice doesn’t work, try following the book approach more closely. Teams new to XP often underapply its practices. Expect to take two ...