Extreme Programming (XP) Practices

<default_to_action> When applying XP practices:

START with practices that give immediate value
BUILD supporting practices gradually
ADAPT to your context
MEASURE results

Core XP Practices (Prioritized):

Practice	Start Here	Why First
TDD	✅ Yes	Foundation for everything
Continuous Integration	✅ Yes	Fast feedback
Pair Programming	✅ Yes	Knowledge sharing
Collective Ownership	After CI+TDD	Needs safety net
Small Releases	After CI	Infrastructure dependent

Pairing Quick Start:

Driver-Navigator (Classic):
- Driver: Writes code
- Navigator: Reviews, thinks ahead
- Rotate every 20-30 min

Ping-Pong (with TDD):
A: Write failing test
B: Make test pass + refactor
B: Write next failing test
A: Make test pass + refactor

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Quick Reference Card

When to Pair

Context	Pair?	Why
Complex/risky code	✅ Always	Needs multiple perspectives
New technology	✅ Always	Learning accelerator
Onboarding	✅ Always	Knowledge transfer
Critical bugs	✅ Always	Two heads better
Simple tasks	❌ Skip	Not worth overhead
Research spikes	❌ Skip	Pair to discuss findings

Agent Integration

// Agent-human pair testing
const charter = "Test payment edge cases";
const tests = await Task("Generate Tests", { charter }, "qe-test-generator");
const reviewed = await human.review(tests);
await Task("Implement", { tests: reviewed }, "qe-test-generator");

// Continuous integration with agents
await Task("Risk Analysis", { prDiff }, "qe-regression-risk-analyzer");
await Task("Generate Tests", { changes: prDiff }, "qe-test-generator");
await Task("Execute Tests", { scope: 'affected' }, "qe-test-executor");

// Sustainable pace: agents handle grunt work
const agentWork = ['regression', 'data-generation', 'coverage-analysis'];
const humanWork = ['exploratory', 'risk-assessment', 'strategy'];

Agent Coordination Hints

Memory Namespace

aqe/xp-practices/
├── pairing-sessions/*   - Pair/ensemble session logs
├── ci-metrics/*         - CI health metrics
├── velocity/*           - Team velocity data
└── retrospectives/*     - XP retrospective notes

Fleet Coordination

const xpFleet = await FleetManager.coordinate({
  strategy: 'xp-workflow',
  agents: [
    'qe-test-generator',   // TDD support
    'qe-test-executor',    // CI integration
    'qe-code-reviewer'     // Collective ownership
  ],
  topology: 'parallel'
});

Related Skills

tdd-london-chicago - TDD deep dive
refactoring-patterns - Safe refactoring
pair-programming - AI-assisted pairing

Remember

XP practices work as a system - TDD enables collective ownership, CI enables small releases, pairing enables collective ownership. Don't cherry-pick randomly.

With Agents: Pair humans with agents. Agents handle repetitive work (regression, data generation, coverage analysis), humans provide judgment and creativity.