Environment

XP environments are optimized for productivity. At Evant, programmers and product managers sit in one large room. Programmers pair-up on computers in the center of the room and integrate code at a nearby computer, while product managers sit at desks that circle the room. This enables programmers to ask questions of product managers in person. Questions are often answered within seconds, allowing a pair to quickly continue productive programming. And because programmers sit so closely together, it is easy to ask questions, or help others when you hear them getting stuck or confused. XP wants to err on the side of too much public space. XP is a communal software development discipline. The team members need to be able to see each other, to hear shouted one-off questions, to "accidentally" hear conversations to which they have vital contributions. -- Kent Beck, Extreme Programming Explained, page 79.

This mini-dialogue occurred when a programmer had a question in her mind about how to program an algorithm. She looked around and saw the very two people who could answer her question. In moments, these two people were by her side, reviewing the steps of the algorithm. The difference between a good space for a team and a bad space for the team is immediate and dramatic -- Kent Beck, Extreme Programming Explained, page 78.

Every three weeks, the team revisits the "Worked Well / Needs Improvement" wall-poster. This poster is intentionally large - you can see it across the room, which helps especially with entries in the "Needs Improvement" column. On this project, one entry in the "Needs Improvement" column related to poor communication between XP programmers and data warehouse people (who work on adjacent floors). Over an iteration or two, the XP team improved their communication with the data warehouse team, and the entry was transferred from "Needs Improvement" to the "Worked Well" column.