Chapter 11: Software Is Never Done (The Schedule Does Not Exist Per Se)
Overview
Software Is Never Done
(Sing to the tune of Happiness Is a Warm Gun by The Beatles)
Soft-ware Is never done
Ooh ooh yeah
So-oft-wa-aa-are
Is never done, mama
When I m coding
With my pair
And I feel . . . her fingers on my keyboard
Then I know
The project should go on and on
Because
Soft-ware Is never done
Ooh ooh yeah
| GROUCHO | Once you accept that scope is variable then suddenly the project is no longer about getting ˜done . Rather its [sic] about developing at a certain velocity. And once you establish a velocity then the schedule becomes the customer s problem. [1] |
| GROUCHO | There is a difference between ˜Schedule and ˜The Schedule . In XP, ˜Schedule is very important, but ˜The Schedule doesn t exist per se. [2] |
This chapter might just turn out to be the most controversial in this book, because it describes a curious paradox that is central to the way that XP works: fixed deadlines versus no schedule.
The XP literature is quite clear that XP does contain schedules and that it s possible to set fixed milestones for project completion. However, this doesn t sit well with the Extremo philosophy that the schedule doesn t exist per se. XP approaches each iteration with a view toward swapping stories in and out (at the start of the iteration), reprioritizing stories as the project progresses. As we explore in this chapter, this approach can result in an unfocused project without a clear direction or sense of completion.
In this chapter, we begin by exploring this aspect of XP together with the curious Extremo concept that software is never done. We then contrast this with the XP approach to project contracts (in which time ”the deadline ”may be fixed, but scope is the biggest variable).
[1] Robert C. Martin posting to OTUG ( http://www.rational.com), subject: Scope Creep, October 11, 2000.
[2] Robert C. Martin posting to OTUG ( http://www.rational.com), subject: Estimates and Promises, October 13, 2000.
EAN: 2147483647
Pages: 156