Communication – XP Values

Courage and Respect are the two values that we have discussed in the past. Both of these are part of the five scrum values. However, the third value of XP is unique and not one of the five scrum values. This is Communication.

Everyone in the XP team believe that whenever you are faced with a problem, you will come up with the best solution if you communicate with your teammates. This high importance placed on communication demonstrates why it is one of the core values of XP.

While it’s easy to imagine an engineer writing code alone with headphones in a dark room, the reality for XP teams is quite different. They work together, plan together, and collaborate to figure out what they’re building. They even code together using practices like Pair Programming.

Informative Workspace

One XP practice that enhances communication is the design of the workspace. An informative workspace ensures the team is constantly absorbing information from one another, fostering continuous collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Two of the most useful tools that XP teams use to make their workspace more informative are,

1. Information Radiators

These are visual tools like a big task board or a large display showing key progress metrics like burndown charts. Information Radiator is placed at a location such that all XP team members can see it from their work area. The idea is that these radiators “radiate” information by being placed in a clearly visible area within the workspace.

2. Osmotic Communication

Are you familiar with osmosis? It’s the phenomenon where water flows across a membrane to equalize concentrations. A similar concept, selective permeation, involves membranes being selective about which particles in water they allow through. In a way, being around people discussing a project allows you to absorb information effortlessly, just like osmotic communication. You also have the ability to be selective about the project details you absorb, similar to practicing selective permeation.

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