Abstract. Many have reported successful experiences using XP, but wehave 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.
Agile methodologies, specially eXtreme Programming (XP), appear as a counterpoint to traditional software development methods. We live in a moment were it is considered acceptable to find bugs in computer programs, even those for which we pay a lot of money. It is essential to improve the way we teach techniques with which teams can collaborate on the development of quality software so that this area of knowledge reaches the maturity we wish. Teaching XP is a relatively complex task because it implies that people must go through a cultural change to accept its values, principles, and practices. Different organizations need to adapt the methodology so that it will work well in their local context. Finding ways to facilitate teaching and adopting agile practices is fundamental to improve the quality of software being developed in the country. This work researches the process of teaching XP in academic, governmental and industrial contexts. Three case studies were conducted and analyzed so that we could suggest patterns that can support educators teaching the methodology in any context.
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