Software Quality Assurance Practice Exam

Which agile methodology includes the concept of collective ownership of the code?

1. Extreme Programming

2. Agile testing

3. Scrum

4. Open Unified Process

The correct answer is: Extreme Programming

Extreme Programming (XP) is the agile methodology that emphasizes collective ownership of the code. This principle states that all team members are responsible for the codebase, meaning anyone can modify any part of the code at any time. This fosters collaboration, encourages team interaction, and promotes higher quality and faster delivery as developers are not restricted to specific areas of the code. In practice, collective ownership helps identify and fix defects more quickly and facilitates continuous integration and frequent improvements. Every team member can contribute to code quality, leading to a shared understanding of the system among all developers, which is a key tenet of Extreme Programming. Other methodologies like Scrum focus more on the management and process aspects of software development rather than on code ownership. Agile testing is a practice that fits within various agile methodologies, emphasizing the testing phase but not the ownership of the code itself. The Open Unified Process is more of an iterative and incremental software development process that combines elements from different approaches and does not specifically emphasize collective ownership in the same way XP does.