Feedback

Tag cloud

what's your question? be descriptive.

By: Asked

What is the best match for Pair Programming? (beginner/expert, beginner/beginner, expert/expert)

Our team has members with different skill levels either in the technology, the application or even the business domain. What is the most productive match when forming pairs?

Add comment viewed 96 times Latest activity about 1 year ago

NN comments
or Cancel

3 answers

  • 0

kevin rutherford

As a coach, I tend to favour beginner/expert, with the least knowledgeable developer "owning" the task. The beginner should also drive, at least at the beginning, so s/he doesn't wind up just watching the expert.

Why? Because one of the most common problems on software teams occurs when the knowledge reaquired to complete some task is vested in one person's head. By having the least knowledgeable developer drive each task, knowledge spreads very quickly and helps to prevent bottlenecks in the flow.

NN comments
or Cancel
  • 1

j. b. rainsberger

I know of no specific, universal rules for which "kinds of pairs" work most productively. I do know that learning is the bottleneck in any new product development, and that most software development is new product development. If you agree that learning in the bottleneck, then as long as everyone learns while pairing, the "kinds of pairs" matters much less. I believe, and admit I have only observations and anecdotes to justify the claim, that enthusiasm correlates higher to productivity in pairing than experience level or skill level.

NN comments
or Cancel
  • 0

tom_83

We do not have any scientific results on this but it seems like these combinations are all beneficial in different ways:

  • beginner/beginner - this can be useful when an expert is unavailable and leads to higher quality work than a solo beginner. Plus they tend to get stuck less.

  • beginner/expert - if the beginner has sufficient confidence or a strong personality then their questions can uncover alternative approaches to solving the problem (they will question more than an expert). The expert is still the guide but has to explain/justify the decisions along the way.

  • expert/expert - very powerful combination to just get things done but this pairing may explore many options and are more likely to go down a familiar route.

NN comments
or Cancel

Question's Contributors

Related Questions