Extreme Programming for Software Engineering Education?

Laurie Williams, Department of Computer Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, [email protected] 2 Richard Upchurch, Computer and Information Science Department, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, N. Dartmouth, MA 02747, [email protected] Abstract  The eXtreme Programming (XP) software development methodology has received considerable attention in recent years. The adherents of XP anecdotally extol its benefits, particularly as a method that is highly responsive to changing customer's desires. While XP has acquired numerous vocal advocates, the interactions and dependencies between XP practices have not been adequately studied. Good software engineering practice requires expertise in a complex set of activities that involve the intellectual skills of planning, designing, evaluating, and revising. We explore the practices of XP in the context of software engineering education. To do so, we must examine the practices of XP as they influence the acquisition of software engineering skills. The practices of XP, in combination or isolation, may provide critical features to aid or hinder the development of increasingly capable practitioners. This paper evaluates the practices of XP in the context of acquiring these necessary Software Engineering skills.