Extreme programming installed Ch. 22-24

Extreme programming installed
Chapters 22-24
Ron Jefferies, Ann Andreson, Chet Hendrickson
Editors: ?

Summary:


Chapter 22 focuses on defects. The authors describe defects in a similar way to user stories. For instance, defects should be written onto note cards and given to the person most appropriate to fix them. Defects are also scheduled to be fixed in iterations and can be prioritized based on importance or the length of time it will take to fix the defect. If any defects manage to get through unit and acceptance tests then those tests need to be fixed in order to prevent new defects from being added to the code base.


Chapter 23 is very brief and discusses the values of extreme programming. These values include communication, feedback, and courage. The authors conclude the book by offering recommendations and discussing practices that reiterate ideas discussed in earlier chapters.


Chapter 24 discusses the aspects of planning and user story estimation. During the planning phase the authors suggest estimating time to be 3 times as long as it would take if the programming team were to work the entire day uninterrupted. The authors also discuss the need for open communication between the programming team and the management. The team should be able to give practical estimates of user story completion times to the management without being pressured into giving lower times than they can produce. This aspect is important in scheduling a plan that will be practical to complete without overloading the programming team.


Discussion:

This reading is interesting because it goes into detail about how to find and eliminate defects. I have never used a note card system for tracking bugs but I think that having something physically in your possession to indicate the need for you to fix a bug would be useful. Aside from the bug tracking chapter this reading felt like a repeat of previous chapters with very little extra information. This reading can mostly be applies to management that want to schedule a software project or want to include defect fixing into their schedule.