Extreme Programming Refactored: The Case Against XP [Paperback]

XP Refactored is the first book to seriously and deeply critique extreme programming. The authors poke fun at the excesses of extreme programming, of which, by the definition of "extreme," there are many. The book contains the best critique of the legendary Chrysler C3 project I've seen, including a good discussion about why it really is more myth than legend. The authors do a good job of countering Beck's claim that "turning the dial up to 10" is a good idea.

Although it isn't the most enjoyable part of the book, the most technically interesting part of the book is the chapter on "Extreme Programming Refactored." The authors see a lot of value in the specific practices of XP; they'd just like to turn the dial down from 10 on some of the practices, reorganize others, and tone down some of the religion.

For the past couple years, some XP advocates have been advocating extreme programming with a fervor normally associated with deeply held religious beliefs -- attacking whenever their belief system is questioned. Historically, humor has been a good response to religious overzealousness, and this book is hilarious. It compares XP to a ring of poisonous snakes, a failed barbecue, and many other vivid analogies.

Ultimately, this book is a polarizing book, much like XP itself. People who love XP will hate this book. People who hate XP will love this book. People who are open minded about XP will enjoy the book and get a better understanding of XP's minuses -- as well as its pluses -- at the same time.

That made this book seem an ideal way to familiarize myself with XP. The authors make it clear which parts of XP are worth adopting, and which parts worth, well, refactoring.

The hype made me feel uneasy. Having only superficial knowledge of XP I kept my mouth shut. After reading the book I can articulate my concerns and put some viable and reasonable compromises forward when faced with an XP project. For that the book is invaluable. The humor is value-add.

About the book, I think the authors have made a reasonably good effort at pointing out the glaring pitfalls of XP while suggesting constructive alternatives.

While it also attempts to set the record straight on the "success" (read failure) of the C3 project which is considered as the project that gave birth (atleast formally) to the XP practices, often it is hard to ignore the spite that the authors seem to have for the Xtremos. To an extent the parodies, satire and jokes all add up to this. This could have been avoided or atleast kept to a minimum (not that the p,s,j are bad :)

IMHO, it is important to read this book (and even books advocating XP) with an OPEN mind. Relate whats written in the books with your experience, apply your best judgement in deciding what practices are suited for your project as well as realise the tight coupling between certain XP practices. (TDD is always good, constant refactoring makes sense sometimes, rejecting up-front design works only for small projects, Refactoring makes sense only if you also employ unit-testing ... all IMHO)

The book also has advice on how to incorporate the 'good' XP practices in an organization without complete overhaul (Start with using safety-net practices).

It is surprising to see some of the leading proponents of XP actually dismiss this book as poorly written. I would have imagined that they would have had a much more mature response to the book. They say that the book dismisses XP (which it does not) without any constructive alternatives (which it does provide if you care to read thru to the end). Wonder why they couldnt give a more constructive or atleast a more pointed criticism of the book itself rather than dismissing it on the whole. Xtremos huh...

To summarize, take out the sarcasm (which at times borders on spite) and you have a good book.