Upgrade to Pro — share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …

To pair, or not to pair

To pair, or not to pair

A talk about pair programming, an agile development practice that still has only relatively patchy adoption across the industry. I talked about a few of the top benefits, then highlighted the challenges, and talked about why I believe those challenges are worth the hassle.

Presented at ThoughtWorks' XConf in New York in July 2018.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_eZ-ae2FY8

Birgitta Boeckeler

July 20, 2018
Tweet

More Decks by Birgitta Boeckeler

Other Decks in Programming

Transcript

  1. To Pair or not to Pair
    Birgitta Böckeler | @birgitta410

    View Slide

  2. 1940s: The first programmers

    View Slide

  3. “Betty Snyder and I, from the
    beginning, were a pair. And I believe
    that the best programs and designs
    are done by pairs, because
    you can criticise each other,
    and find each other’s errors,
    and use the best ideas.”
    Jean Bartik
    http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/birth-of-the-computer/4/78/2258
    1940s: The first programmers

    View Slide

  4. 50 years later

    View Slide

  5. https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/what-are-our-core-values-and-practices-building-software

    View Slide

  6. View Slide

  7. 1
    IT’S A
    LONG
    GAME.

    View Slide

  8. https://martinfowler.com/bliki/PairProgrammingMisconceptions.html

    View Slide

  9. 2
    ONE DOES
    NOT SIMPLY
    PAIR
    PROGRAM.

    View Slide

  10. IS IT WORTH
    THE HASSLE?
    CHALLENGES
    EFFECTIVENESS

    View Slide

  11. 1 + 1 > 2

    View Slide

  12. 1 + 1 > 2

    View Slide

  13. FOCUS

    View Slide

  14. FOCUS

    View Slide

  15. View Slide

  16. FOCUS

    View Slide

  17. TRUE CONTINUOUS
    INTEGRATION

    View Slide

  18. TRUE CONTINUOUS
    INTEGRATION

    View Slide

  19. CHALLENGES
    EFFECTIVENESS
    1+1>2
    FOCUS
    CONT. INTEGRATION

    View Slide

  20. ENERGY

    View Slide

  21. ENERGY

    View Slide

  22. COLLABORATION

    View Slide

  23. COLLABORATION

    View Slide

  24. IT’S PERSONAL

    View Slide

  25. “To pair requires vulnerability.
    It means sharing all that you know
    and all that you don’t know.
    This is hard for us.”
    Tom Howlett, “The Shame of Pair Programming”
    https://diaryofascrummaster.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/the-shame-of-pair-programming/

    View Slide

  26. “you can criticise each other
    and find each other’s errors”

    View Slide

  27. IS IT WORTH
    THE HASSLE?
    CHALLENGES
    ENERGY
    INTENSE COLLAB.
    IT’S PERSONAL

    EFFECTIVENESS
    1+1>2
    FOCUS
    CONT. INTEGRATION

    View Slide

  28. Giving & Receiving
    Feedback
    Communication

    View Slide

  29. Pia Nilsson, “Knowing Me, Knowing You - Growing teams to continuously deliver”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S92vVAEofes

    View Slide

  30. Pia Nilsson, “Knowing Me, Knowing You - Growing teams to continuously deliver”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S92vVAEofes
    Diversity

    View Slide

  31. https://hbr.org/2016/09/diverse-teams-feel-less-comfortable-and-thats-why-they-perform-better

    View Slide

  32. https://hbr.org/2016/09/diverse-teams-feel-less-comfortable-and-thats-why-they-perform-better

    View Slide

  33. https://hbr.org/2016/09/diverse-teams-feel-less-comfortable-and-thats-why-they-perform-better

    View Slide

  34. IT’S FUN!

    View Slide

  35. Pia Nilsson, “Knowing Me, Knowing You - Growing teams to continuously deliver”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S92vVAEofes

    View Slide

  36. View Slide

  37. EMBRACING CHANGE
    += EMBRACING FRICTION

    View Slide

  38. To Pair or not to Pair
    Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
    Birgitta Böckeler | @birgitta410

    View Slide