Remote pair programming conference 2012

Remote Pair Programming

A Guide for Distributed Agile Teams

Wednesday, August 15, 12

Agenda

OverviewPeople

Challenges“You’re Remote Pairing Today”

TechnologyWednesday, August 15, 12

http://svy.mk/pairprogram

Feedback




Who?


Joe Moore - @[email protected]

Pivotal Labs - @pivotallabshttp://svy.mk/pairprogram

Who?


mailto:[email protected]




Who?

Pair programming since 2000


Who?

Remote pair programming full time since 2010


Pair Programming?


Pair Programming?

Two developers coding on the same

development workstation


Pair Programming?

Solving the same problem, at the same time, together


Pair Programming?

• Higher quality • Fewer defects • Focus • Intensity • Faster

problem solving • Knowledge transfer • Code review •


What?

Remote pair programming


What?

Pair programming, but not at the same physical computer


What?

What does it look like?






Video

Remote pairing:debugging a phone

http://youtu.be/mfoJ6mBVi2w




Challenges


Challenges


Video

Remote pairing:(listen for both our voices)

http://youtu.be/CWJMzW1ZqNE


http://youtu.be/4PkT1bbmA4I




Video

Remote pairing:coding via screen sharing







When?



When?

Your projectis split between

multiple locations


When?

You work for a “virtual company”


When?

Your project has remote developers


When?

Someone needs another person’s expertise

but they’re not co-located


When?

You’re giving a remote pairing interview


Why?



Why?

RPP can have the same benefits as

in-person pair programming


Why?




Why?

Counteract remote development pitfalls


Why?




Why?

Silo is a four-letter word


Why?

Some people like it better than in-person pairing?


Why?

Some people like it better than in-person pairing?

It’s true! I’ve heard it multiple times!


How?



How?

It’s about the people, not just technologies


How?

You can’t fix a team of tools with tools


How?

Patience


How?

Express your ideasclearly and concisely


How?

Extremely good pairing etiquette


How?

“Do you mind if I drive?”“I’m going to grab the mouse.”

“Can I look at something?”“Go ahead and drive.”


How?

Supportive operations/infrastructure team


How?

A good attitude






How?

Team must be generous and understanding




How?

Do’s and Don’ts


Do…

• Be patient • Be assertive about being included

• Make an effort to include remote dev• Take breaks, play ping pong• Use video (especially at first)

How?


x Exclude remotes from local conversationsx Exclude remotes from meetings

x Be the strong, silent typex Just walk away

x Lay your headphones on keyboard

Don’t…How?


How?

Regarding Video


How?

I’m striving for a “high fidelity”

experience




How?

Let’s play a game called:“What’s going on?”


What’s going on?


What’s going on?


What’s going on?


What’s going on?


What’s going on?


What’s going on?


Challenges



Challenges

The same challenges as in-person pair programming


Challenges

Lacks some of the traditional work-from-home benefits

(especially full-time pairing)


Challenges

Lack of shared facilities


Challenges

Lack of shared facilities

• Whiteboards • Notecards • Big visible charts • Information

radiators • Lunch area • Hallway conversations •





Challenges

2 timezones is hard


Challenges

3 timezones is harder


Challenges

12 timezones is…???


Challenges

Technology gremlins


ChallengesTechnology gremlins

• flaky internet • firewalls • Skype • crappy software • broken hardware • Skype

• VPNs • SKYPE


• Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype ype • Skype • Skyyyyyyyype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype SKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPE!!!!!!! • Skype

• Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype •

Skype • Skyyyye!!! • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype •

Skyyyyyyyyyyyyype!!! • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype •

Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype • Skype •


ChallengesWorking from home?

Get savvy with your home network


Meetings, stand-ups, scrums, planning sessions, etc?

But what about…



Now what?

“You’re remote pairing today”


1. Find a headset 2. Exchange Skype info and invites3. Call, preferably with video4. Talk about RPP experiences5. Agree on OS, editor, dev setup6. Choose and try a screen sharing tech




Remember theDo’s and Don’ts



Remote pairing interviews


See previous list, and also:

• Send interviewee a setup email 24 hours before the interview

• Consider browser-based screen sharing for simplicity (more later)

“You’re remote pairing today”Remote pairing interviews



Hello Sally --

I'm Joe Moore, software engineer at Pivotal Labs. You and I will be remote pairing today! Do you mind answering a couple of questions and performing a little setup?

• What is your Skype ID?• What operating system are you using? Are you on a Mac, PC, or Linux machine?• What is your screen resolution?

If you could, please download and install TeamViewer, which we will likely use

Remote pairing interviews


Questions

before we talk about technology?


The Tech


The Tech

There will be problems


The Tech

Fast high speed Internet,especially upload bandwidth

from the host


The Tech

Remember wired networks?

They’re fast!


The Tech

VPN: gateway through firewalls


The Tech: Screen Sharing

Many options depending on networks speed, firewalls,

ease of use


The Tech: Screen Sharing

Full desktop sharingor

Terminal based


The Tech

Full Desktop Sharing


The Tech: Screen SharingFull Desktop Sharing

ConsiderationsCross

Platform? Works across Windows, Mac, Linux

No VPN Some (usually) punch through firewalls, some don’t

In Web Browser

Quickest way to get a session going, but sometimes limiting

2-Way Control

Presentation software only allows the host to control


Joe’s Recommendations


Cross Platform No VPN In Web Browser 2-Way Control

✓(VNC) X X ✓✓ X X ✓X ✓ X ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓ X X

✓ ✓ ✓ X


Screen Sharing

The Tech

/System/Library/CoreServices



2-Way Control

✓✓✓✓✓✓XX

Pause for

Rant


The Tech: “Screen” Sharingtmux – shared ssh sessions


The Tech: “Screen” Sharingtmux – shared ssh sessions

• Fast! • Good for Vim, Emacs editors• Popular in Ruby, Scala communities• Best for low bandwidth connections• Addictive usage model


The Tech: “Screen” Sharingtmux cont…

• Requires ssh access, possibly VPN• Learning curve using tmux commands• Desktop screen sharing for some activities• Not for IDEs - iOS, Java, .NET



The Tech

Video Conferencing


Video Conferencing

The Tech


The Tech

Love it or hate it, Skype is ubiquitous and has

great echo cancelation

Video Conferencing


The TechVideo Conferencing

http://www.cisco.com/web/telepresence


http://www.cisco.com/web/telepresence/index.html


Development Workstation


Computer for Development


Laptop for

Skype


Snowball Mic for Groups

orOffice


Speakers for

Groupsor

Office


Headest


Long Term Remote Pairing


Works best withdedicated RPP stations

and dedicated audio/video laptops



Dedicated stations: everyone knows where to find

the remote people



Telepresence, etc.

Random Thoughts


“Skype-enabled”meeting rooms

Conference Rooms


Conference Rooms


http://www.cisco.com/web/telepresence

Conference Rooms




What about iPads?


Promising!

What about iPads?


What about iPads?


What about ROBOTS!?!?!

http://anybots.com


http://anybot.com

http://anybot.com

http://www.newscientist.com

http://internetdebris.blogspot.com/

OMG ROBOTS!!!!!!


http://www.newscientist.com/




http://www.newscientist.com

http://internetdebris.blogspot.com/ ???

OMG ROBOTS?????






Thank You!Joe Moore

Pivotal Labs@joem

[email protected]://svy.mk/pairprogram






Documents

Remote pair programming conference 2012