Use of Extreme Programming Methodologies in IT Application Design Processes: An Empirical Analysis

An attempt to control and standardize new application software development has led a large telecommunications firm in the Southwest United States to create a centralized information technology department. Centralization, however, resulted in an increase in development and implementation cycles and a concomitant increase in software development costs, especially for small and medium-sized IT projects. Functional units within the firm, faced with uncertain and fast-changing business environments, responded to the increased development and implementation times by creating their own development teams, thus competing with the centralized department and thwarting the synergies realized from having a centralized IT department. Alternative development processes to the waterfall process currently in use by the firm were studied. Of the alternative processes, extreme programming was selected to be deployed in a phased approach. This paper examines the issues facing the company, the alternative software development processes considered, and the selection criteria. The paper will also examine the progress made to date in the deployment process.