In 2DegreesInvesting/ds-incubator: Share best practices in coding

2020-03-10: Pair programming

Driver - navigator

Overview

• benefits are not immediately obvious

• not as simple as "two people working at a single computer"

• feels uncomfortable

• vital for collaborative teamwork and high quality software

-- https://martinfowler.com/articles/on-pair-programming.html

Ping pong style

Strong-Style Pairing

The rule:

For an idea to go from your head into the computer it MUST go through someone else's hands.

Particularly useful for knowledge transfer

Discuss: Benefits (5')

Discuss: Challenges (5')

• Pairing can be exhausting
• Intense collaboration can be hard
• Interruptions by meetings
• Different skill levels
• Power Dynamics
• Pairing with lots of Unknowns
• No time for yourself
• Rotations lead to context switching
• Pairing requires vulnerability
• Convincing managers and co-workers

To pair or not to pair

• Boring Tasks
• Need space to figure things out

Problems with code review vs. pairing

• not looking too closely at the code.
• avoid rework for something that we invested in.
• disruptive to switch context

Why bother?

It takes:

• Concentration and focus (suitable style),
• task organization (find problem, solution, and plan),
• time management (e.g. pomodoro),
• communication,
• giving and receiving feedback,
• empathy,
• vulnerability

Work on getting better at it, you will end up with a more resilient team.

2DegreesInvesting/ds-incubator documentation built on Oct. 13, 2021, 10:09 a.m.