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.

System Metaphor was and is an elusive practice of the original XP. It has largely been forgotten over time.

Yet in the past few years, my colleagues and I have discovered the stunning power of a genuine System Metaphor on our own shipping product. This makes us wonder why System Metaphor ever went out of vogue.

This session will explore why Metaphor matters. We’ll examine how our own Music Metaphor reshaped our flagship product, even our company, and how the right metaphor can supply the driving beat that can turn your product into a hit.