Rating:  Summary: XP Good. XP Books Waste of Money Review: There is no information in this book that is not available for free on the web. The only reason to buy this book is to give something back to the authors for their contributions to the XP community.
Rating:  Summary: One book, many authors Review: There's a certain amount of repetition in this book. It makes me feel that perhaps each of the three authors took their assigned chapters and wrote them, much like they would take their assigned "story cards" at the beginning of a project. But there's good practical advice here. Take out a yellow highlighter and resolve: "OK, I'm going to highlight at least one good idea on every page". You'll be able to do it.
Rating:  Summary: One book, many authors Review: There's a certain amount of repetition in this book. It makes me feel that perhaps each of the three authors took their assigned chapters and wrote them, much like they would take their assigned "story cards" at the beginning of a project. But there's good practical advice here. Take out a yellow highlighter and resolve: "OK, I'm going to highlight at least one good idea on every page". You'll be able to do it.
Rating:  Summary: One book, many authors Review: There's a certain amount of repetition in this book. It makes me feel that perhaps each of the three authors took their assigned chapters and wrote them, much like they would take their assigned "story cards" at the beginning of a project. But there's good practical advice here. Take out a yellow highlighter and resolve: "OK, I'm going to highlight at least one good idea on every page". You'll be able to do it.
Rating:  Summary: The only usable programming methodology I know Review: This book gives you a viewpoint, how to organize and execute successful IT projects. I use only a few principles from it, but they help me a lot. Big hello to the authors!
Rating:  Summary: Good solid content, but not the best book to start with Review: This book is part of a series with "Extreme Programming Explained" and "Planning Extreme Programming", and needs to be viewed in that context. "Extreme Programming Explained" is the manifesto, designed to get you fired up about the subject but thin on detail. "Extreme Programming Installed" covers some of the same ground, but focuses on real-world examples and advice on how to make Extreme Programming really work. Jeffries and the team are not afraid to face up to things people have trouble with in real situations. The book covers dealing with difficult managers and customers, deciding what needs testing, making pair programming work for you, and lots more. The bulk of the book goes through the practices of Extreme Programming step by step, but some of the most useful stuff is contained in the so-called "bonus tracks" which appear at the end. The book also has a large and interesting annotated bibliography. Well worth reading, but I'd recommend that you start with "Extreme Programming Explained", then read this one if you like the idea, but want a more practical approach.
Rating:  Summary: Good solid content, but not the best book to start with Review: This book is part of a series with "Extreme Programming Explained" and "Planning Extreme Programming", and needs to be viewed in that context. "Extreme Programming Explained" is the manifesto, designed to get you fired up about the subject but thin on detail. "Extreme Programming Installed" covers some of the same ground, but focuses on real-world examples and advice on how to make Extreme Programming really work. Jeffries and the team are not afraid to face up to things people have trouble with in real situations. The book covers dealing with difficult managers and customers, deciding what needs testing, making pair programming work for you, and lots more. The bulk of the book goes through the practices of Extreme Programming step by step, but some of the most useful stuff is contained in the so-called "bonus tracks" which appear at the end. The book also has a large and interesting annotated bibliography. Well worth reading, but I'd recommend that you start with "Extreme Programming Explained", then read this one if you like the idea, but want a more practical approach.
Rating:  Summary: Good discussion of how XP works. Review: This book provides a good parellel to Beck's manifesto (XP Explained), but falls a bit short of Beck's book. The authors make an effort to try and explain how to apply XP to your job, and succeed fairly well, but infuse their opinion on how some things should be done throughout. Nonetheless, this is as essential a volume as Beck's, and should be considered worthwhile. Like XP Explained, this one is well written, simple but never childish, and filled with information.
Rating:  Summary: Accurate, Practical Review: This book, as well as "Extreme Programming Applied" by Ken Auer and Roy Miller are the two which should be read by a developer after the introductory "Extreme Programming Explained" by Kent Beck. XP Explained will encourage a reader to the new way of thinking, without bothering with technical details. For a manager it is OK, but for the developer, a bunch of questions will arise. "XP Applied" and "XP Installed" are to answer these questions, providing lots of tips, tricks and case studies. The only disadvantage is that all the useful examples in these book contain code in SmallTalk, while C++ and Java are popular nowadays. SmallTalk has a distinct, unique style and may frighten C++ or Java developers. That's why I've rated the book four stars. I would recommend this book to any XP'er.
Rating:  Summary: Will Change How You Think Review: This excellent book changed not only the way that I approach software development, but also how I approach problem solving in general. It is well written and completely accessible. The authors repeat important concepts over and over again to the benefit of the reader. If you're looking for concrete practices that will make developing software easier and more fun, this is the book to read.
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