eXtreme Programming in Practice
Extreme programming sounds a little too “ESPN2” for most managers, but there is a lot of sound engineering behind its principles. My employer, ThoughtWorks, has been extremely successful using the full XP stack and we have developed lots of experience with it. This session talks about how to do XP in the real world. I talk about the parts of XP that are absolutely vital (unit testing, collective ownership, continuous integration, etc) and the ones that you can introduce a little more slowly (pair programming, only a 40 hour work week). This session focuses on the practicality of XP and how you can adopt it at your organization. I also talk about political battles with managers, other departments, and barriers that pop up anytime you try to introduce change in a large enterprise. Discussion is encouraged (required) in this session.
Extreme programming sounds a little too “ESPN2” for most managers, but there is a lot of sound engineering behind its principles. My employer, ThoughtWorks, has been extremely successful using the full XP stack and we have developed lots of experience with it. This session talks about how to do XP in the real world. I talk about the parts of XP that are absolutely vital (unit testing, collective ownership, continuous integration, etc) and the ones that you can introduce a little more slowly (pair programming, only a 40 hour work week). This session focuses on the practicality of XP and how you can adopt it at your organization. I also talk about political battles with managers, other departments, and barriers that pop up anytime you try to introduce change in a large enterprise. Discussion is encouraged (required) in this session.
About Neal Ford
Neal is Director, Software Architect, and Meme Wrangler at ThoughtWorks, a global IT consultancy with an exclusive focus on end-to-end software development and delivery.
Before joining ThoughtWorks, Neal was the Chief Technology Officer at The DSW Group, Ltd., a nationally recognized training and development firm. Neal has a degree in Computer Science from Georgia State University specializing in languages and compilers and a minor in mathematics specializing in statistical analysis.
He is also the designer and developer of applications, instructional materials, magazine articles, video presentations, and author of 6 books, including the most recent The Productive Programmer. His language proficiencies include Java, C#/.NET, Ruby, Groovy, functional languages, Scheme, Object Pascal, C++, and C. His primary consulting focus is the design and construction of large-scale enterprise applications. Neal has taught on-site classes nationally and internationally to all phases of the military and to many Fortune 500 companies. He is also an internationally acclaimed speaker, having spoken at over 100 developer conferences worldwide, delivering more than 600 talks. If you have an insatiable curiosity about Neal, visit his web site at http://www.nealford.com. He welcomes feedback and can be reached at nford@thoughtworks.com.