Amazon.co.uk Review
In
Extreme Programming Examined the authors have chosen 33 papers from the first annual conference on Extreme Programming and Flexible Processes in Software Engineering. These examine XP issues in categories: Pair programming, testing and refactoring; flexible techniques and UML; Tools for XP development and so on.
The essays range from straightforward discussions, such as striking a balance between XP and existing methodologies--patterns for example--to the practical experiences of teams retrofitting testing methodologies during a project. Many of the papers address issues arising when trying to incorporate XP features alongside existing programming practices. This is likely to be the reality in most programming environments where managers are reluctant to abandon existing methods without proof of concept.
Perhaps more importantly for the target audience--those running software projects--there are detailed studies of costs and benefits in here. Among the findings discussed are that the number of man hours needed to produce the same code is similar for pairs and single coders--but pairs introduce 15 per cent less errors; and errors are far more costly to eradicate than introduce.
No one should expect a single approach to suit all projects though the essays in Extreme Programming Examined successfully argue for wider acceptance of the XP approach. This makes sense. When well-implemented XP appears to enable programmers to produce better, cheaper code to a deadline. You can't afford not to understand how your competitors are becoming more competitive. --Steve Patient
Product Description
Extreme Programming (XP) may be the world's hottest software methodology: a lightweight, programmer-friendly approach that is delivering breakthrough results in a wide range of projects worldwide. This book brings together the proceedings of the first global XP conference: the collected "best practices" wisdom from the world's leading XP practitioners. This collection brings together case studies, experiences, and research related to all aspects of XP. It starts with the foundations, then moves on to process, practices, tool support, experiences, and the future: opportunities to apply XP in an even wider range of projects and applications. Among the many highlights: Martin Fowler's discussion of the role of design in XP methodologies; new insights into scalability and organization; an in-depth analysis of XP pair programming; new attempts to integrate XP with UML; and exciting new approaches to rapid modeling of software systems. For software professionals concerned with accelerating software development and improving software quality throughout their organizations.
