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| <mainDescription><a id="XE_agile_software_development__process_differentiators" name="XE_agile_software_development__process_differentiators"></a> 
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| <h2>
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| <a id="Intro" name="Intro">Introduction</a>
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| </h2>
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| <p>
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| Extreme Programming is probably the best known and very likely the most used of what have come to be known as agile
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| software development methods. There are many software professionals working on agile methods today. There have been
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| several international conferences on agile methods, numerous papers, many websites, and quite a few books. We'll key
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| our discussion from the Agile Manifesto at <a href="http://www.agilemanifesto.org" target="_blank">www.agilemanifesto.org</a>.
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have
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| come to value:
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| </p>
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| <h2>
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| <a id="Individuals" name="Individuals">Individuals and Interactions Over Processes and Tools</a>
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| </h2>
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| <p>
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| Processes and tools are very important. We wouldn't be writing this and you wouldn't be reading it were that not true.
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| The best processes and tools, we believe, are those that enable the individuals who are part of a software project to
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| do their job most effectively. To do that, the processes and tools need to facilitate the human interactions that bring
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| about understanding and cooperation. The agile methods use the smallest amount of process that's safe and the simplest
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| tools that are effective in aid of those individuals and interactions.
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| </p>
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| <h2>
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| <a id="Working" name="Working">Working Software Over Comprehensive Documentation</a>
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| </h2>
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| <p>
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| Documentation can be very important to a software project. Sometimes it's the only way to communicate ideas across
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| space and time. For an ongoing software project, however, there is a much better way to know what's going on and to
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| steer the project.
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| Observe the software. The software can be tested, used, and inspected, and all the answers you get are unambiguous. The
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| agile methods focus on keeping the software visible, beginning as early as possible. The best XP projects begin
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| producing tested visible software in the first couple of weeks of the project and never stop.
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| </p>
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| <h2>
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| <a id="Customer" name="Customer">Customer Collaboration Over Contract Negotiation</a>
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| </h2>
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| <p>
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| Many software projects require a contract, and all benefit from a clear understanding of what will be done. Attempts to
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| over-constrain the initial understanding, however, almost always backfire. Too often, the result can be a "letter of
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| the law" product that pleases neither the developers nor the users. Agile methods recognize that all stakeholders will
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| be learning over the course of the project. Agile projects are thus set up to facilitate learning and to take advantage
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| of it.
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| </p>
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| <h2>
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| <a id="Responding" name="Responding">Responding to Change Over Following a Plan</a>
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| </h2>
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| <p>
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| Too many changes of direction can cause a project to go out of control, costing too much or never finishing. Initial
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| plans, however, cannot know which potential changes should be accommodated and which ignored. Agile methods address
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| this issue in two ways:
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| First, they respond to change by planning publicly and often. Small changes are dealt with in frequent in-team small
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| planning sessions, while the big picture is published and processed by all stakeholders, again very frequently.
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| </p>
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| <p>
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| Second, the development techniques in the agile methods generally allow stakeholders to substitute new and better ideas
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| for earlier notions without exorbitant increases in costs.
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| </p>
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| <h2>
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| <a id="Summary" name="Summary">Summary</a>
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| </h2>
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| <p>
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| As you study Extreme Programming and as you use it, it's important to keep these agile values in mind. As you tune and
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| adjust the process to your situation, working with the values will enable you to get the best results from the least
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| effort.
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