Extreme Programming Refactored: The Case Against XP (Paperback)

Extreme Programming Refactored: The Case Against XP (featuring Songs of the Extremos) takes a satirical look at the increasingly hyped Extreme Programming methodology. It explores some quite astonishing Extremo quotes that have typified the XP approach – quotes such as, “XPers are not afraid of oral documentation,” “Schedule is the customer’s problem,” “Dependencies between requirements are more a matter of fear than reality” and “Concentration is the Enemy.”

In between the chuckles, though, there is a serious analysis of XP’s many flaws. The authors also examine C3, the first XP project, whose team (most of whom went on to get XP book deals shortly before C3’s cancellation) described themselves as “the best team on the face of the Earth”. (In a later chapter, the authors also note that one problem which can affect pair programmers is overconfidence – or is that “eXcessive courage”?). The authors examine whether the problems that led to C3’s “inexplicable” cancellation could also afflict present-day XP projects.

In the final chapter (Refactoring XP) Matt and Doug suggest some ways of achieving the agile goals of XP using some XP practices (used in moderation) combined with other, less risk-laden methods.

Table of Contents

Part I Another Fine Mess You’ve Gotten Me Into (Laurel and Hardy Take Up Programming)
Chapter 1: XP in a Nuthouse (Oops, We Mean Nutshell)
Chapter 2: Where Did XP Come From? (Chrysler Knows
It Ain’t Easy . . .)
Chapter 3: The Case Against XP
Part II Social Aspects of XP (Mama Don’t Let Your Coders Grow Up to Be Cowboys)
Chapter 4: Extremo Culture
Chapter 5: The On-site Customer
Chapter 6: Pair Programming (Dear Uncle Joe, My Pair Programmer Has Halitosis)
Chapter 7: Oral Documentation (Oxymoronic, or Just Plain Moronic?)
Part III We Don’t Write Permanent Specs and Barely Do Any Upfront Design, So
Chapter 8: Design After First Testing
Chapter 9: Constant Refactoring After Programming (If It Ain’t Broke, Fix It Anyway)
Chapter 10: User Stories and Acceptance Tests
Part IV The Perpetual Coding Machine
Chapter 11: Software Is Never Done (The Schedule Does Not Exist Per Se)
Chapter 12: Emergent Architecture and Design
Chapter 13: Embracing Change (Embrace People, Manage Change)
Part V The Big Picture
Chapter 14: Scalability
Chapter 15: Refactoring XP
Chapter 16: Conclusion: Neutralizing the Reality Distortion Field