Extreme Programming Installed: Ch. 7-9

Reference:
Extreme Programming Installed
Ron Jeffries, Ann Anderson, Chet Hendrickson
2001 Addison-Wesley

Chapter 7

Summary:

It is ideal to release small portions of a system under development so that the customer sees real value and gets tangible functionality during the development process.  Some applications can't be released incrementally, but workarounds can be found by interfacing a new system with the old one.  Almost every large system can be divided into subsystems, and by releasing these as able to the customer, the customer gets the best value for their money.

Discussion:

Another key part of the extreme programming I've experienced.  This ties into the user story aspect, in that each story was a piece of functionality, and each story was able to be used upon completion.



Chapter 8

Summary:

 As a customer, one should expect multiple releases for a system.  Each release will have multiple iterations, and during each iteration multiple user stories will be completed.  As a customer, then, one should prepare the user stories, help the programmers estimate the difficulty of each story, and answer any questions they have.  If something isn't going the way you anticipated it, then the issue can easily be brought up at the start of the next sprint.

Discussion:

 Based on my experiences, this still sounds like textbook Extreme Programming.  If nothing else, XP encourages communication between the customer and the programmers.



Chapter 9

Summary:

 Several things have to happen during iteration planning.  A meeting takes place, where the customer presents the user stories to the programmers.  The programmers assist into breaking the stories down into tasks, and determine which of these tasks are necissary to implement the story.  The estimation phase follows, where a programmer sign up for the work they believe they can complete, and they estimate the difficulty of the work.

Discussion:

One of the great things about XP is that people typically get to work on what they wish to work on.  The sign up/estimation phase decreases the chance that someone will have to work on something they don't want to, and increases the chance they will work on something they enjoy.