Programming in the eXtreme: Critical characteristics of Agile implementations

The prevalence of systems development project failures has been well documented. eXtreme Programming (XP) is a software development methodology that seeks to eliminate many of the shortcomings of cumbersome life cycle oriented traditional methodologies. We explore some of the basic tenets of XP and Agile methodologies and present the thoughts of two of the proponents and early participants in the “Agile revolution”, Chet Hendrickson and Ron Jeffries. We analyze this interview utilizing an interpretive field study employing a hermeneutical circle technique. Our analysis suggests some of the characteristics of XP implementations are more critical than others. We propose a more concrete definition of what XP represents and suggest areas for future research.