Just added an XP section to my article about Scrum alternatives. Here is the added text:
Extreme Programming (XP)
Extreme Programming (XP) is a significant improvement over Scrum. At first glance, this might seem surprising, given how similar the rituals are: you still do planning, you still run iterations (which Scrum calls sprints), and you still break the work into small tasks. But XP stands out because it includes the engineering practices that make this collaboration style not only feasible but sustainable.
One major practice in XP—and Scrum—is shared code ownership. In both approaches, all code belongs to the team. Anyone can work on any task or submit changes to any repository. However, this introduces a challenge: every developer is responsible for a much larger body of code than if the codebase were divided into clearly defined areas of individual ownership. Where XP excels is in how it addresses this challenge.
In XP, developers collaborate closely to manage shared code ownership. Most notably, all work is done in pairs. Pair programming ensures that no one gets stuck for long and that knowledge is shared continuously. This is essential for maintaining momentum and handling the complexity of a collectively owned codebase. Pairing also lightens the load of constant iterations by reducing individual performance pressure and replacing it with the energy and camaraderie of close collaboration.
In contrast, Scrum teams often work independently, even with shared code ownership. This is extremely inefficient. Developers frequently get stuck, and finding help is difficult because everyone else is focused on their own tasks—or stuck themselves. Without pairing, Scrum can feel exhausting and stressful, especially with an intense focus on task completion metrics. Burnout becomes the norm, not the exception.
XP encourages several other practices to get faster, better feedback. For example:
Shorter iterations: XP uses one-week iterations, while Scrum iterations typically last two weeks or more. This provides faster feedback cycles and allows the team to adjust more quickly.
Test-Driven Development (TDD): Writing tests before writing code improves code quality and provides a safety net for continuous changes.
Continuous Integration (CI): By integrating and testing code frequently, teams catch issues early and avoid painful merge conflicts.
Another crucial advantage of XP is its focus on direct customer interaction. Unlike Scrum, which relies on a Product Owner to act as a proxy between the team and the customer, XP emphasizes direct collaboration. This approach shortens feedback loops, helps the team better understand the problem domain, and enables them to focus on delivering the right solution. Product Owners, by contrast, are a poor substitute for the richness of direct customer interaction.
Finally, XP seems to have avoided one of the key pitfalls of Scrum: certification. Scrum introduced a certification ecosystem that brought hordes of non-technical practitioners into technical teams as Scrum Masters and Product Owners. While XP teams also adopted rituals like planning and retrospectives, these rituals were owned and managed by the developers themselves. This self-management made XP more reasonable and less prone to micromanagement.
For teams looking for true collaboration, sustainable practices, and better outcomes, XP remains a vastly superior choice.
References:
Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change by Kent Beck
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