Fanciful Magic

Rules of XP

This is something that's been on my mind for a little while now: The Rules Of XP. I find having rules seems to be anti-XP. I find XP to be about being pramatic and agile. Rules seem to me to be about being rigid and orderly. The exact opposite of the XP philosophy. Maybe I have it wrong. But, to me, the XP book is a set of guidelines and not rigid rules. It seems with all of the extra books on XP that go into every gory detail of Kent Beck's book is overkill. 100 pages was the perfect size for that book and all of the practices I agree with. But, to have rules to follow for doing stories or even coding if absurd. It should be what allows your team to "embrace change" and "delight your customers". Am I the only one that feels this way? I'm going to go write some unit tests.