Appendix C. Introduction to eXtreme Programming (XP)

eXtreme Programming (XP) is one of the best-known "agile" methods . XP was primarily developed by Kent Beck and Ward Cunningham. XP came together as a tightly knit set of practices, based on a few guiding principles, as part of a payroll project at Chrysler Corporation in the mid-1990s. Since then, it has captured the imagination of programmers throughout the world. There are many books devoted to XP ”there is even an XP series of books published by Addison-Wesley. Nearly every software development conference today offers sessions on XP.

Teams that have adopted XP and have been successful report reduced defects and higher satisfaction from customers and developers on their projects. We are beginning to see some empirical data supporting the value of many of the XP practices.

Kent Beck says that XP is "a lightweight, efficient, low-risk, flexible, predictable, scientific, and fun way to develop software." ^[1] This appendix briefly describes XP. For information about why XP works, and details about XP itself, we refer you to the XP references in the Recommended Reading list at the end of this book and to any of the numerous Web sites devoted to XP.

^[1] Preface to Extreme Programming Explained .