I first came across XP a few years back on Ward Cunningham's wiki. At first, I rejected it out-of-hand. The name was far too "gimmicky" and it sounded like just another panacea being proposed. It's not.

XP is a collection of practices that enable a team of motivated developers deliver better software (fewer errors and more focused on business value) in less time while controlling risks.  ExtremeProgramming is a particular style of AgileSoftwareDevelopment.

It is characterized by the four XpValues and the twelve (plus or minus) XpPractices.  Less attention is paid to the XpPrinciples and XpActivities, but these are not unimportant.

 * Don Wells' excellent diagram of XP [[http://www.extremeprogramming.org/map/loops.html|feedback loops]].
 * Simon Jones' [[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/extremeprogramming/message/121695|advice on dealing with a perceived need for documents]] within the team.