Spiking in eXtreme .NET

Learn the art of research and experimentation known in Extreme Programming (XP) as spiking. Excerpt: Experimentation is a fundamental part of research. To understand and validate how something works, we experiment with it. Spiking is the XP term given to research and experimentation. Spiking provides a way to discover more information about a specific part of the project. This chapter guides you through carrying out some spikes (research) on technologies that you have not encountered. After you have spiked an area of technology, you have a much better understanding of what it will take to develop software using that technology. This understanding will enable you to more effectively break down stories into tasks and make more accurate time estimates for those tasks.