How do you create an effective work breakdown structure?  A Work breakdown structure (WBS) is a powerful tool for improving your project success.   An effective work breakdown structure is an informed list of the jobs for your project.  You can think of a work breakdown structure as a map of the jobs to be done to complete the project.  You can use the map to guide yourself, guide your team, and guide your stake holders.  You can use your work breakdown structure to help understand time and budget requirements.  …

How can you leverage XP practices in a fixed-price contract?   One approach is to fix the price and the schedule, but somewhat vary the scope.  You reduce risk by fixing the cost and schedule.  Flexing the scope means that you can respond to the customer’s changing needs as you deliver value.  You can think of this as the customer subscribing to your development team’s service for a period of time.  In Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change (2nd Edition) (The XP Series), Kent Beck writes about how to deal with fixed …