XP south of the equator: An eXPerience implementing XP in Brazil

Abstract

Many have reported successful experiences using XP, but we have not yet seen many experiences adapting agile methodologies in developing countries such as Brazil. In a developing economy, embracing change is extremely necessary. This paper relates our experience successfully introducing XP in a start-up company in Brazil. We will cover our adaptations of XP practices and how cultural and economical aspects of the Brazilian society affected our adoption of the methodology. We will discuss how we managed to effectively coach a team that had little or no previous skill of the technologies and practices adopted. We will also cover some new practices that we introduced mid-project and some practices we believe emerged mostly because of Brazilian culture. The lessons we learned may be applicable in other developing countries. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.