Extreme Programming at Ford with Scott Erkkila

Even if you don’t own a vehicle, you know the name Ford. Over 120 years after selling its first vehicle, Ford remains one of the world’s largest automotive companies. What’s kept them going is a willingness to innovate and change with the times, often topping the charts of best selling cars in America well into the 21st century.

Within Ford Pro, which oversees Ford’s commercial and fleet vehicles, is a hub of innovation: the Ford Pro technology team and its 600+ workers, including over 300 software engineers. And managing these top developers is this episode’s guest, Scott Erkkila, Head of Software Engineering at Ford Pro.

Scott sat down with Mission CEO Stephane Rossi to talk the latest at Ford Pro, with a particular focus on extreme programming, the methodology being implemented by over 100 software engineering teams within Ford Pro tech. Scott talks benefits and dispels myths around the “controversial” methodology, while giving clues as to how this massive company founded over a century ago continues to meet their customers’ needs and effortlessly stays ahead of the times.

Key moments

What is extreme programming? (10:00)

Key features of extreme programming (11:56)

Pair programming (15:20)

Why did Ford Pro adopt extreme programming? (15:45)

The importance of inclusivity and collaboration (21:42)