Pair programming demystified

Pair programming DEMYSTIFIED

Problems, problems, problems…

Silos

”I don’t learn that much anymore”

I am bored with technology X / project X / customer X

Good Code Review is hard

What is pair programming?

2 people 1 computer

DriverNavigator+

Swap roles often

Mythsof pair programming

Double the workload

Myth

2 > 1 + 1

Truth

You need the right partner

Myth

For most people it works with most partners

Truth

Only good for training

Myth

Different kind of pairing is effective at most stages

Truth

I get no credit for my work

Myth

Solvable with Task Owners

Truth

Navigator finds only syntax mistakes

Myth

Good pairing has a tremendous impact on the code's design and architecture

Truth

Pair synergistic behaviours!

Pair pressure

No pair pressure

Pair negotiation

Pair reviews

Pair learning

Pair trust

Pair courage

Pair debugging

Details, details, details…

Rotation

Ping-pong pair programming

Environment

junior & senior

extrovert & introvert

backend & frontend

Types of pairs

• Started with casual pairing

• One month experiment ~100% pairing

• Ping-pong pair programming: 90%

• Team decision: continue

Introducing pair programming at DaftCode

@marekkirejczyk

Pair early, pair often

www.daftcode.com