Extreme Programming for Web Projects

Doug Wallace is the founder and president of Agile.Net, a consulting company that designs and develops Web sites and e-business applications using Extreme Programming and other Agile methodologies. Previously, he was manager of New Media at Passport Online and director of New Business Development and Strategy for Infinet Communications. He writes on e-business for Marketing Magazine and is a frequent guest expert on Canada's Cable Pulse 24 Money Morning television program. Joel Aufgang is CTO for Agile.Net and an early adaptor and pioneer of XML and C# in the production of complex Web sites and systems. Prior to joining Agile.Net, he worked on many Web and software projects in both Canada and internationally and cofounded Monkeys and Typewriters, an XML and Web development consulting firm. Isobel Raggett has been involved in Web site design and development since the beginning of the industry, and has been at the forefront of adapting lightweight methodologies to Web site development. She has worked on many Web projects, as general manager of Agile.Net and production manager for Passport Online, as well as developed her own popular fashion site. 0201794276AB08282002

Foreword.


Preface.


Acknowledgments.
I: XP AND WEB PROJECTS.

1. Why the Web Industry Needs XP.


Trying to Be All Things to All Customers.



Projects Not Delivered on Time or on Budget.



Adversarial Customer/Developer Relationships.



Unsuccessful Projects.



The XP Solution.



Web Development versus Software Development.



Teams.



Support for Multiple User Environments.



Testing.



Rapid Deployment.



Customers.



Quality.



XP Web Development.

2. Project Estimating.


The Pitfalls of Estimating.



Equations.



Fixed-Price Quotes.



Past Projects.



The Parameters of Estimating.



Time.



Price.



Scope.



Quality.



An XP Estimating Strategy.



Less Risk on Fixed-Price Quotes.



Better Time Tracking.

3. Customer Trust.


Promises Unkept.



Financial and Estimating Problems.



Failure to Deliver.



Poor Quality and Communications.



Building Trust.



A Customer Bill of Rights.



The Customer Bill of Rights as a Selling Point.

4. The Release Plan.


Customer Goals.



Strategies for Achieving Customer Goals.



Technical Constraints.



Appropriate Web Technologies.



The Release Plan Document.

II. WORKING ON WEB XP PROJECTS.

5. The Project Team.


Typical XP Project Roles.



Web XP Project Roles.



Customer.



Strategist.



Developer.



Interface Programmer.



Graphic Designer.



Server-Side Programmer.



Mentor.



Project Manager.



Tester (Quality Assurance).



Pair Programming.



Interface Programmers and Graphic Designers.



Customers and Testers.



Testers and Graphic Designers.



Customers and Everyone.



Continuous Integration.



Checking in Work.



Keeping on Track.



Transitioning the Team to XP.

6. The Development Environment.


The Work Space.



Seating Arrangements.



Desks and Chairs.



Hardware and Platforms.



A Shared Repository.



Discussion Spaces.



Walls.



Food.



Locating the Customer.



Work Timing.



Avoiding Burnout.



Setting Velocity.



Time Tracking.



Breaking the XP Rules.

7. Working in Iterations.


Stories and Deliverables.



The Iteration Strategy Session.



Writing Stories.



Estimating Stories.



Success Metrics.



Selecting Stories.



Iteration Planning and Estimating.



Discussing Stories.



Assigning Stories.



Revising Estimates.



Determining Content Requirements.



Risk Analysis and Management.



Iteration 1: Preparing for Development.



Iteration 2: Avoiding Risk.



Iteration 3: Spikes.



The Iterations Ahead.

8. The Graphic Design Process.


The Pitfalls of Ignoring the Customer during Design.



Graphic Design Iterations.



The Creative Brief.



The Competitive Analysis.



The Mood Board.



Look and Feel.



The Design Specification.



The Page Layout.



Matching Tasks and Iterations.

III. XML AND WEB XP.

9. XML—A Better Way.


HTML.



HTML Problems.



HTTPUnit.



XML to the Rescue.



Basic XML.



XSLT.

10. XP Web Development Practices.


XML in Web Development.



The First Law of XML Web Development.



Using the Schema Document.



Using the XSLT Style Sheet.



Separating Content and Formatting.



Continuous Integration.



The XML Site Map.



Navigation.



Site Map Structure.



Using the Site Map.



Unit Testing with XML.



Output Methods.



Testing Options.



XSLTUnit.



Deploying the XML Site.

IV. WEB XP BEST PRACTICES.

11. Planning.


High Risk versus High Cost.



The XP Alternative.



Iterations.



Keep to Two-Week Iterations and Independent Stories.



Plan Iteration Strategy.



Plan for Width Before Depth.



Make Customer Input Easy and Controllable.



Keep Track of Tasks.



Keep the Customer Involved in Delivery.



User Stories.



Stories Should Be Written in a Language That the Customer Understands.



Stories Should Provide the Customer with Something Tangible.



Stories Should Take between One and Two Weeks to Complete.



Stories Must Be Testable.



Project Velocity.



Estimating Velocity.



Why Is Velocity Important?



Changing Velocity.



The Team.



Relevant Experience.



Diversity.



Skills Transfer.



The People Skills of the Project Manager.



Communications.



Adapting XP.

12. Design.


Simplicity.



CRC Cards.



Naming Conventions.



Prototypes.



Starting Slowly.



Changes.



Refactoring.

13. Coding.


Coding Best Practices.



Learn to Love an Onsite Customer.



Write Code to Agreed Standards.



Code the Unit Test First.



Use Paired Development.



Leave Optimization Until Last.



Avoid Overtime.

14. Testing.


Unit Testing.



Unit Tests for Web Projects.



Multiple Browsers.



Choosing Browsers.



Managing Assets.



How to Get Started.

References.


Further Reading.



Index. 0201794276T09112002