Shortly after learning about XP, I desired to start a movement called MP for "Moderate Programming".
At the very least, I could out-acronym my next interviewer. He says, "Do you know XP?" and I say "Puh-lease. XP is so nine-months ago. Everyone is doing MP. ... What? *You* don't know what MP is?" (incredulous look on my face; uncomfortable look on his) LOL Another motivation is that--and I hesitate to say this because no one has officially conferred authority to me nor did I collect hard, scientific evidence (please don't burn me at the stake)--I don't think extremes work well much of the time. When I find a solution to a real life problem, that solution is usually a balancing act between extremes. I've seen this in business, software and martial arts. Ancient Greeks and Chinese used to write about this stuff--thousands of years ago. Getting back to software development, I want enough formalism to avoid well known problems and enough flexibility to leverage my intelligence and experience. Furthermore, that balance has to vary per project and needs refinement over the course of the project. I know that's very gray, but real projects are gray and vary immensely. The processes that Gabe spelled out recently for code and design reviews are good examples of MP. Amazon gets benefit with minimal overhead and stress. If the processes start to fail in their purpose for some reason, they can be adjusted. If developers feel burdened, the processes can be streamlined. There's no sense in making them anything other than "just right" for their set of variables. Regarding unit tests, I have found them to be: - great for standalone methods - good for standalone classes - not so great for OO frameworks.. When I start needing mock objects I feel the ROI on writing test code plummets So I use them where I can get a good payoff and not elsewhere. That's MP. So if MP becomes the next big thing, you heard it here first! (Although more than likely, someone has already espoused this with even the same term.) And now that I have branded common sense ideas already familiar to many, it's time for me to cash in with some books and paid speaker gigs! Early retirement, here I come! -Chuck Esterbrook, founder of MP -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-lpsg
