Introduction

The computer science curriculum at Valparaiso University has included an upper-level course in software design for almost 20 years. The goals of the course have remained fairly constant over time, while the development methods emphasized have changed drastically to keep up with the latest advances in methodology. We have always sought to simulate as much as possible a "real world" environment. Our students work in teams on substantial projects that are proposed by a client. The instructor sets the list of activities each team should go through in the development process.

This chapter reports on our recent use of XP as the guiding methodology. It includes input from our students on their reactions to the various components we attempted to simulate and suggests ways to make the course activities fit XP more closely.