In 2001, Follett Software Company (FSC) began work on the next generation of its library software. Many options were considered, including sending the effort off shore. In April 2001, members of the Destiny team attended a C-SPIN meeting where Martin Fowler spoke about Extreme Programming (XP). In what was considered a bold experiment at the time, the team chose to adopt an XP process “the most well-known and controversial” of the new agile processes.

This experience report will tell of a “do-it-yourself” Agile success story, with changes, challenges and lessons learned along the way.

It is the late-80’s and the U.S. Department of Defense is rolling out a new state-of-the-art system for scheduling satellite tracking stations that uses a text-driven display and communication over serial lines. Now 15 years, 3 failed replacements and over 20 million tax payer dollars later a final attempt at replacing the crippled system gets underway…using Agile. This experience report will cover the challenges faced developing a critical application in iterations while satisfying the customers requirement that deliverables be made using the traditional waterfall lifecycle.