PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) Practice Exam

What characterizes eXtreme Programming as an Agile methodology?

1. Long development cycles and independent teams

2. One week iterations and paired development

3. Focus on documentation and planning

4. Strict adherence to predefined processes

The correct answer is: One week iterations and paired development

eXtreme Programming (XP) is characterized by its short iterations and practices that emphasize customer satisfaction and frequent releases. One-week iterations allow teams to continuously deliver functional software and receive immediate feedback. This iterative approach helps to adapt to changing requirements and enhances collaboration among team members. Paired development, or pair programming, is another key aspect of XP. In this practice, two developers work together at one workstation: one writes the code while the other reviews each line as it’s written. This not only improves code quality but also fosters knowledge sharing and team communication. While the other practices mentioned, such as long development cycles, a focus on documentation, or strict adherence to predefined processes, do exist in other contexts or methodologies, they do not align with the principles and practices that define eXtreme Programming. The emphasis in XP is on flexibility, collaboration, and adaptability, which is perfectly captured by the concept of short iterations and paired development.