How to sell the idea of XP to managers, customers and peers

Abstract

This workshop aims to gather developers with XP experience, project managers and customers. We want this group to share and discuss experiences, thoughts and ideas on starting an XP project with the right foundation. The goal is to enable the participants to bring an understanding of the agile process and the values it gives back to their own organization and customers. In order to do so, we have to understand what is pressing the customer and what she cares about. The organizers have been through several successful processes in delivering the starting and ongoing values of an XP approach, both in their own organization and the customer side. Most of them were used to waterfall and similar approaches. After experiencing more control and confidence in their projects during the agile process, they report back to us with an eagerness to continue and further develop the process. In addition, they experienced a flexibility that they just could not get with their former habits. The most effective way of explaining the benefits of an agile process successfully is to communicate in a way that is meaningful for both the customer and your organization. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.