Iterative Development adds
agility to the development process. Divide your development schedule
into about a dozen iterations of 1 to 3 weeks in length. One week is
the best choice even though it seems very short. Keep the iteration
length constant through out the project. This is the heart beat of your
project. It is this constant that makes
measuring
progress and planning simple and reliable in XP.
Don't
schedule your programming tasks in advance. Instead have an
iteration planning
meeting at the beginning of each iteration to plan out what will be
done. Just-in-time planning is an easy way to stay on top of changing
user requirements.
It
is also against the rules to
look
ahead and try to implement anything that it is not scheduled
for this iteration. There will be plenty of time to implement that
functionality when it becomes the most important story in the
release plan.
Take
your iteration deadlines seriously! Track your progress during an
iteration. If it looks like you will not finish all of your tasks then
call another
iteration
planning meeting, re-estimate, and
remove some of the
tasks.
Concentrate your effort on completing the most important tasks as
chosen by your customer, instead of having several unfinished tasks
chosen by the developers.
It
may seem silly if your iterations are only one week long to make a new
plan, but it pays off in the end. By planning out each iteration as if
it was your last you will be setting yourself up for an on-time
delivery of your product. Keep your projects heart beating loud and
clear.
XP Rules