I tried to get HowIStoppedWorryingAndLearnedToLoveXp but Wiki wouldn't do it. Anyhow, this is an attempt to answer Martin's questions.

There once was this programmer that had worked for years and years with immense structure in his processes and his life. He had spent years working for the likes of the DOD and Raytheon and such. For over 15 years, he was filled with stories and pressure of how BigDesignUpFront. Then he worked at a bunch of CowboyCoding Windows shops where there was no process or design or anything! 

So this programmer encountered ExtremeProgramming at Wiki. It made no sense to him. It went against everything he had been taught and he had seen the destruction brought on by CowboyCoding. He tried to argue that he needed UML diagrams. He has to have that familiar structure to get the products right. But he saw that the more BigDesignUpFront that he did, the more projects were still screwed up or more likely cancelled. He was working 80 hour weeks just like all the others and still they couldn't get it right. Things would still slip and slide. Still no-one knew at all when they were doing or what the customer wanted.
 
He started to see that another way was needed. He approached his management, who put up a whole slew of objections that were asked here. Then he moved to a company. By this point, he was becoming convinced that such company was doing everything by the seat of their pants and had better do something fast before the process person they hired got to implement her CapabilityMaturityModel stuff and destroy the company. 

So he tried on some small E-commerce projects. They worked. His developers loved it. They could grok the CRC card design. Management had to be convinced about PairProgramming. Meanwhile, the company's CTO noticed that Sam's projects were working where others weren't. He was given the book and read it in one sitting remarking "this is all the stuff I have been doing for years and now formalized." Thus was born a strong partnership that went to do battle with the forces of evil (CMM). One by one, their objections were destroyed. ExtremeProgramming became the company methodology and everyone lived happily after ever.

Does this help? I was trying to have fun too!

-- sg
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CategoryAdoptingXp