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 events in Munich and Hamburg, November 2018

Transcript

1. To Pair, or not to Pair Birgitta Böckeler | @birgitta410
2. 1940s: The first programmers
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
4. 30-40 years later https://twitter.com/MrAlanCooper/status/1060553914209071106
5. Another 10-20 years later
8. 1 IT’S A LONG GAME.
9. https://martinfowler.com/bliki/PairProgrammingMisconceptions.html
10. 2 ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY PAIR PROGRAM.
11. IS IT WORTH THE HASSLE? CHALLENGES BENEFITS
12. BENEFITS
14. 1 + 1 > 2
15. 1 + 1 > 2 Knowledge sharing Combine 2 modes of thinking: Tactical and strategic Helps you get unstuck Onboarding
16. !
17. AVOID WASTE
18. „THE 7 WASTES OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT“ Mary & Tom Poppendieck: „Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash“
19. Partially Done Work Extra Features Relearning Handoffs Delays Task Switching Defects „THE 7 WASTES OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT“ * Mary & Tom Poppendieck: „Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash“
20. Partially Done Work Extra Features Relearning Handoffs Delays Task Switching Defects „THE 7 WASTES OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT“ * Mary & Tom Poppendieck: „Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash“
21. Partially Done Work Extra Features Relearning Handoffs Delays Task Switching Defects „THE 7 WASTES OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT“ Mary & Tom Poppendieck: „Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash“
22. Partially Done Work Extra Features Relearning Handoffs Delays Task Switching Defects „THE 7 WASTES OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT“ * Mary & Tom Poppendieck: „Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash“
23. 1 handoff 2 handoffs 3 handoffs 4 handoffs 5 handoffs Knowledge lost in handoffs Mary & Tom Poppendieck: „Implementing Lean Software Development: From Concept to Cash“
24. Seen on https://devops.com/dark-side-infrastructure-code/
25. FLOW
26. FLOW Focus
27. Kathy Sierra, „Your brain on multitasking“ https://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/03/your_brain_on_m.html
28. FLOW Focus Reduced team WIP
29. Kathy Sierra, „Your brain on multitasking“ https://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/03/your_brain_on_m.html
30. TRUE CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION
31. TRUE CONTINUOUS INTEGRATION Code review “on-the-go” Collective code ownership >>Trunk-based development
32. CHALLENGES BENEFITS 1+1>2 AVOID WASTE CONT. INTEGRATION FLOW
33. ENERGY
34. ENERGY Don’t pair 8 hours a day Take breaks Switch roles and modes
35. COLLABORATION
36. COLLABORATION Feedback Exchange “READMEs” Awareness of your differences
37. IT’S PERSONAL
38. “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/
39. “you can criticise each other and find each other’s errors”
40. IS IT WORTH THE HASSLE? CHALLENGES ENERGY INTENSE COLLAB. IT’S PERSONAL … BENEFITS 1+1>2 AVOID WASTE CONT. INTEGRATION FLOW
41. Concentration Giving & Receiving Feedback Task organisation Time management Empathy Communication
42. Pia Nilsson, “Knowing Me, Knowing You - Growing teams to continuously deliver” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S92vVAEofes
43. Pia Nilsson, “Knowing Me, Knowing You - Growing teams to continuously deliver” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S92vVAEofes Diversity
44. https://hbr.org/2016/09/diverse-teams-feel-less-comfortable-and-thats-why-they-perform-better “Homogeneous teams feel easier – but easy is bad for performance” Fluency Heuristic
45. Pia Nilsson, “Knowing Me, Knowing You - Growing teams to continuously deliver” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S92vVAEofes
46. IT’S FUN!
48. EMBRACING CHANGE += EMBRACING FRICTION
49. To Pair, or not to Pair Do something today that your future self will thank you for. Birgitta Böckeler | @birgitta410