| Extreme Programming (XP) is a lightweight or agile software development process that was developed in 1996. It was designed to address the challenges of high speed and high change that characterize today's technology environment. The XP process consists of 12 practices that users believe will allow them to develop high quality software, on time and within budget. Although successful applications of XP have been reported, very little research has been conducted in either the academic or corporate arenas.; This project advances research into XP through the use of an Internet protocol that asked key questions regarding why organizations were adopting the XP process, what software development problems individuals and organizations hoped to solve by using XP, which practices were being utilized, and how XP users were measuring success and failure. The answers to these questions were then synthesized into themes and categories that were used to develop a pictorial model that represents five major components of the XP process—purpose, problems, process, product, and issues that can cause XP projects to fail. The resultant model is a useful tool by which potential users, teams and organizations can obtain a synopsis understanding of the XP software development process and serves as a starting point from which further study can evolve and more elaborate models can be developed. |
