Xp Isa Cult

Have you ever gotten the impression that XP is some kind of cult? It seems to me that a lot of XpEr?s are ravenously defensive of their techniques and are constantly trying to convert people. Not to mention all of the fluffy self-help-esque pep-talking, such as in MythsAboutXp...

See: CultsWork, IsExtremeProgrammingWacko
Contrast: XpAsReligion

When KB started XP he privately noted to people he was starting a religion. Real religions require faith; XP is science that welcomes discovery, contradiction, and debate.

ExtremeProgramming broadcast itself, however, as a cult, with these trappings:

initiates learn a set of jargon
part of learning is teaching. Acolytes are encouraged to recruit new initiates
initiates are asked, at the beginning, to forget previous endeavors and try XP on faith, not experience
initiates are lead thru deeper and deeper secrets, via the ExtremeProgrammingLevels

This is not because XP needed a religious status to survive. It's because, given the pathetic situation of SoftwareEngineering before XP, the BestPractices that worked very well together were in short supply, and needed a vehicle for replication by any means necessary. --PhlIp

XP is more than a religion, it is a cult. It focuses on a few charismatic leaders promising to make everyone's life better and offers those practicing an opportunity to feel superior to the general population.

Ah, but one thing we learned at XP Universe is that while the leaders are charismatic, they continually make statements (ThisWorksForMeButMayNotWorkForYou? and YourMileageMayVary) antithetical to a cult. They are excited about what they do. They think it could work for you. But they don't care if it does (you can take it or leave it) and they aren't sure that it will (they don't make blanket statements about XP working with every team in every situation on every project). -- JohnLindsey

Let's see how we stack up as cult leaders ...

KentBeck encourages developers to take responsibility for their own actions.
RonJeffries insists that we perform experiments and report the results.
I, WardCunningham, ask that we support our friends and colleagues however they choose to work.

As cult leadership this is pathetic. XP is not a cult.

we support our friends and colleagues however they choose to work

Hmm. CultOfPersonality aspects aside, one big issue with LeanDevelopmentProcess, reported again and again, is you can only get as lean as your vendors. To fully streamline everything, you must roll your lean practices all the way up your value chains. You must mentor your vendors to JustInTime all their activities, too.

Next, IndustrialLogic, for example, practices ReadinessAssessment?. Unless your WholeTeam agrees to dive in the deep end, they don't engage you.

--PhlIp

On the other hand, AppleIsaCult.