Executive Summary of Talk

A ' lightweight application development methodology ' called extreme programming, or XP and new methodologies are the focus of discussion. Despite its name, extreme programming is a well-thought-out set of rules with a growing cadre of adherents. Although it hasn't generated much interest from business IT, it's attracting a near-cult following in developers' circles, particularly among object-oriented programmers and, especially, Java developers.

There's no doubt that extreme programming is a radical departure from almost every accepted IT application development practice. IT lives in a world of big infrastructure, which is antithetical to XP. To IT people, extreme programming is akin to a bunch of hackers at work. But extreme programming practitioners follow a very specific set of rules.

Extreme programming promises to achieve two goals IT has long pursued: building applications that deliver what the business actually wants and needs, and building quality applications that can be readily changed as business needs change. Given its generally dismal track record in achieving either of these goals, IT needs to pay close attention, especially as it ramps up for the next generation of Internet and E-business applications.

XP is designed for controlling the unexpected. It assumes that you'll be making a lot of changes. It allows you to inch the project along while you keep the code base clean; just try an idea, code it up, and see the results fast. This model is thus suited for the development of 'opensource' code too.

The discussion attempts to suggest XP and Joint Application Development (JAD) - a poor man's TSP - methodologies as viable and cost-effective process improvement strategies .

Agenta

5:30pm -6:00pm          Networking/High Tea
6:00pm - 6:10pm      Overview of Chennai SPIN - Dr. S RAVICHANDRAN,Leader,Chennai                                   SPIN
6:10pm - 7:40pm         Presentation by Dr. T.V. Gopal
7:40pm - 8:00pm         Question & Answer Session