Software development is being revolutionized. The heavy-weight processes of the 1980s and 1990s are being replaced by light-weight, so called agile processes. Agile processes move the focus of software development back to what really matters: running software. This is only made possible by accepting that software developmentisacreativejobdoneby,with,andforindividualhumanbeings.For this reason, agile software development encourages interaction, communication, and fun. This was the focus of the Fifth International Conference on Extreme P- grammingandAgileProcessesinSoftwareEngineeringwhichtookplacebetween June 6 and June 10, 2004 at the conference center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the foot of the Bavarian Alps near Munich, Germany. In this way the conference provided a unique forum for industry and academic professionals to discuss their needs and ideas for incorporating Extreme Programming and Agile Metho- logies into their professional life under consideration of the human factor. We celebrated this year's conference by re?ecting on what we had achieved in the last half decade and we also focused on the challenges we will face in the near future.
