What is the Extreme Programming Values health check?
Extreme Programming (XP) rests on five values: Communication, Simplicity, Feedback, Courage and Respect. The practices XP is known for, like pair programming, continuous integration and test-driven development, are hard to sustain when those values are weak. Pairing doesn't work without respect, and nobody refactors a risky module without some courage. The Extreme Programming Values health check turns each value into a plain statement, such as We aim for simplicity and avoid waste or We are willing to do the right thing and work on tough problems, and asks your team to rate how consistently it lives up to it, from Rarely to Consistently. Start the discussion with the lowest-scoring value: it's often the one holding the others back.
Dimensions
Extreme Programming Values
The five core values that underpin Extreme Programming and shape how the team collaborates, builds, and improves.
Communication
We communicate well and in a way that achieves our goals.
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Consistently
Simplicity
We aim for simplicity and avoid waste.
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Consistently
Feedback
We ask for, receive and give feedback to improve our practice.
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Consistently
Courage
We are willing to do the right thing and work on tough problems.
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Consistently
Respect
We respect and encourage one another.
- Rarely
- Sometimes
- Consistently
When to use this health check
- When you're adopting or maturing XP practices and want to ground them in the values behind them.
- In a retrospective about team culture and collaboration habits.
- When pairing, feedback loops or technical decisions feel inconsistent and you want to find the cause.
- As a recurring pulse check on how the team's XP culture is changing.
Tips & tricks
- Run it anonymously so people feel safe rating Courage and Respect honestly.
- Compare the five values to find the weakest one. It's often the one holding the others back.
- Re-run the check every few iterations to see whether agreed actions are changing how the team works.
- Ask for concrete examples behind low scores, so the improvements you agree on stay practical.