By Jose Torres – iOS Software Engineer at Santex
Vague or constantly changing requirements are a fact of life. Instead of ignoring them, we should adapt our processes to reality. Extreme Programming (XP) principles exist to help us safely drive the work of building software. The web is full of information on XP, which can be synthesized as:
Lightweight, evolving, flexible knowledge to develop software.
The concept of XP first came about in the 1990s. It bears repeating though, because, unfortunately, many organizations have lost the point. Perhaps they apply technical principles and fail in their flaccid adaptation. Maybe they employ agile processes but little in the way of technical practices. Can these discrepancies be balanced? How can we fight back?
Move to an extreme state and embrace its principles. Some organizations resist this shift. One of the best ways to adapt to this change is by running a pilot of a small, internal project.
XP Principles state that at least two developers must work in a single workstation. To extend this concept, add one more step after the development sprint organization and consider having the team determine the number of developers who will work together for each user story. On the most critical user stories, place the whole team at a single workstation to discuss and then write production code.
XP Principles also dictate that there be a short release cycle for the product. To take this concept further, set up a specific time period during the day (i.e. every three hours) to continually release the product. You could also consider a full integration, if possible. This will help relieve the problems of production integration later, as integration is always happening. As David Farley states “reduce cycle time and the rest falls out.”
Keep in mind that having an active local community can help you to go further. In London, for example, there are multiple extreme programming initiatives like XProlo, eXtreme Tuesday Club, and XPDay, all of which are dedicated to XP practices, where people can join and share knowledge. We should continue creating initiatives and networking to create communities and evolve together.
There are many ways of actively moving forward when integrating extreme principles in software development. As main actors, we are responsible for tracking the efforts of our organizations as they assimilate and take real XP practices to the next level.
About the Author
Jose is an innovative Software Engineer who specializes in developing iOS applications for both iPhone and iPad. Skilled in creating business applications as well as games, Jose enjoys mentoring colleagues and fellow developers.
