Bill of Rights

When XP first came out, one expectation it worked hard to set is who gets to make what calls on software projects. For example, business has the right to know how long something is going to take and when it can expect things to be done. Conversely, developers have the right to know what the priorities are, and to be able to do good work.

To that end, XP created the Customer and Development Team Bill of Rights.

Customer Bill of Rights

1. You have the right to an overall plan, to know what can be accomplished when and at what cost.
2. You have the right to get the most possible value out of every programming week.
3. You have the right to see progress in a running system, proven to work by passing repeatable tests that you specify.
4. You have the right to change your mind, to substitute functionality, and to change priorities without paying exorbitant costs.
5. You have the right to be informed of schedule changes, in time to choose how to reduce the scope to restore the original date. You can cancel at any time and be left with a useful working system reflecting investment to date.

Developer Bill of Rights

1. You have the right to know what is needed, with clear declarations of priority.
2. You have the right to produce quality work at all times.
3. You have the right to ask for and receive help from peers, managers, and customers.
4. You have the right to make and update your own estimates.
5. You have the right to accept your responsibilities instead of having them assigned to you.