I'm sorry to wave goodbye to a community of over 1500 members, and two decades worth of facilitating practice-based events, and teaching #ExtremeProgramming and #SoftwareCraft skills to programmers.

Lesson learned. Don't give your data to centralised services.

The group was immensely successful, and enjoyed a 4.9 rating. If you've run a meetup, you know what that means.

Adios muchachos.

I’ve worked on plenty of new projects recently and have cracked out my copy of “Planning Extreme Programming” for a reread. I’m sure there was a section about “walking skeletons”. It turns out that it is from “The Pragmatic Programmer”, where it’s called the more aggressive “tracer bullets”. How much experience do you have with walking skeletons? How much is enough before you ship? #ExtremeProgramming #XP

For the same reasons, some published authors are better at describing than at enacting.

Maybe an author really knows, in context, under stress, how to do the thing. Maybe not.

#ExtremeProgramming

1. Become Director of Engineering

2. Tell org and stakeholders that XP will fix longstanding problems

3. Regularly interfere with devs’ learning

4. Design projects to delay ROI

5. Find scapegoats

Maybe they’ll blame #XP.

Maybe in your case it’ll be what it sounds like. I hope so. But beware. https://schmonz.com/snac/schmonz/p/1757721641.814818

If the only bits of #ExtremeProgramming you’ve mastered are the technical ones, you’re not an XP expert. Especially if you’re sure you are.

If you’re still sure of your understanding, regardless of cost to you and others… clownshoes.

If you do this while claiming to be an #XP expert, that’s clownshoes.

Leaders are not obligated to value such feedback.

But if they don’t, they oughtn’t claim to value #ExtremeProgramming. They value something incompatible.

If influential developers of the highest caliber keep not meeting your expectations, you have much more to learn about #EngineeringLeadership.

Not all “XP” jobs, authors, experts, or leaders are what they claim. Before applying, ask around your network.

More about me.

I've always wanted to be a #writer of #scienceFiction and #fantasy but working as a #computerProgrammer, #softwareDeveloper, #agileTrainer, and #coursewareDeveloper is how I made my money.

I've written one #romcom #novel so far, not yet published, and a few articles on #extremeProgramming which were published. I might be a better editor than a writer.

my literary heroes include Terry Pratchett #discworld and Theodore Sturgeon

- Less principled, coherent, systemic

- More expedient, forgetful, surprising

In short: even riskier.

If there were such a thing as expertise in managing software risks, you’d want that, right?!

#ExtremeProgramming

#XP #XPLives #ExtremeProgramming