Agile Business Coach

What's in a name

Early feedback (We value negative over positive, and fail fast to win early) indicated that this has been discussed extensively already. My view on the naming of XP.

EXtreme Programming (XP) and Test Driven Development (TDD) are superior methodologies to the Rational Unified Process (RUP) or a Waterfall methodology. A number of sources state Agile Methodologies are “Crossing the Chasm” in marketing terms. XP is being adopted by the “Early Majority”, who are following the Courageous “Early Adoptors” like ourselves. We should be aware that a number of superior technologies have failed at the Chasm because they fail to market themselves to a new group of people, the Early Majority. The names “eXtreme Programming” and “Test Driven Development” are off putting to the Early Majority and could cause Agile Methodologies to fail at the chasm at worst or at least slow down their uptake. This article is a call to arms, the Agile Community must rename these practices to more marketable names for those we are now attracting. Otherwise we risk the danger that Agile will fail to cross the chasm and we will be doomed to rename a niche community within the software world.

Geoffrey Moore’s classic book “Crossing the Chasm” explores why great technologies fail to make it to the mainstream. It suggests that consumers are split into four groups named “Early Adoptors”, “Early Majority”, “Late Majority” and “Late Adoptors”. Between the “Early Adoptors” and the other groups there is a Chasm that great technologies fall into. They are taken up by the “Early Majority” but they fail to attract the other groups. These groups have different characteristics and the key ones are the “Early Adoptors” and the “Early Majority”. “Early Adoptors” like to be the first to adopt a new technology and less worried about risk. “Early Majority” only take up a technology when they see that it is proven, they are much more risk averse. They are also a much much bigger group.

Now imagine the scene, a Software Manager in the “Early Majority” group is preparing his weekly status report for his boss. He has two kids, wears a grey suit and has a big big mortgage. One of his top programmers comes into his office all excited about a new methodology that his friend has told him about called “eXtreme Programming”. The programmer gives him an article to read and leaves the room. The manager’s reaction is going to be “This sounds like Extreme Sports…surfing, snow boarding and skate boarding”. He is going to picture the long haired youth with bad attitude that cut him up on the ski slopes of Aspen. “I’ll think about it he says” and promptly returns to his status report. The article gets put into his in-tray. Two months later he finds it again during a clear out, he spots the word “Courage” in bold, and promptly drops it into the bin, unread. Besides, his programmer has left to join ThoughtWorks, leaving him with a real bad resource problem and a whole load of code that no one else can understand. The reason he rejects “eXtreme Programming” is because it does not suit his risk preference. As a member of the “Early Majority”, he is a follower rather than a leader. None of his peers have adopted it, so why should he take the risk? Lets leave it to the surfers and snow boarders at ThoughtWorks.

Imagine a similar scene, the difference is that his top programmer comes in to present an article on “Test Driven Development”. The manager already has a problem with the testing budget as it is. The User Acceptance Test phase of his project is running two months behind schedule. He does not want to adopt a practice that emphasises the riskiest part of his project and potentially causes even bigger cost overruns. Nope, he will stick with the company’s official RUP based methodology.

One of Agile’s biggest problems crossing the chasm is that the most popular and successful methodologies, “eXtreme programming”, has a name that is scary to the group that we are currently trying to market to on the other side of the chasm. Unless we rename the methodology, Agile could remain a niche community rather than make it into the mainstream.

So what names could we chose? Any name that reflects the true risks associated with XP. We know that it is a safer and more successful methodology, that’s why so many of us are fanatical about it and want everyone to use it.

I suggest that the XP and Agile Community chose a new name. Any will do which doesn’t include the words “eXtreme” or “Test”. This could be something discussed and agreed at XP 2004 or the Agile Development Conference.

As a suggestion, How about Excellent Programming? Addison Wesley could print copies of the White Book with “Excellent Programming, Embrace Change” as well as the classic XP version for the informed. Hopefully it will sell even more copies than it currently does. Hopefully Kent Beck will read this blog and agree. I love his methodology and want everyone to use it. Just please help me with the sell to my prospective clients in the “Early Majority”.

Posted by chrismatts at February 14, 2004 6:55 PM