Abstract

As a consequence of software systems becoming an integral and indispensable component of business operations, software development has attained critical importance. Several models have been developed in the last 20 years or so, to aid in the establishment and assessment of quality systems for software development, as well as improving processes and determining capability. CMMI is currently the most widely accepted and adopted one of these models. Many large scale software development firms have based their development operations on well defined processes, derived from such models as CMMI. However the requirements of comprehensive models such as CMMI may be difficult to meet by smaller firms which prefer more informal ways. For this reason the so called agile methods have gained popularity among small scale firms since the late 1990s. Perhaps the most popular of the agile methods is Extreme Programming or XP, other examples being Scrum, RUP, and Crystal Family. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the XP, which is a software development method, in terms of CMMI which is a process assessment model. In other words, we will try to answer if and to what extent XP practices can meet the CMMI level 2 specifications, and what additional practices may or may not be necessary for full compliance.