💡Designing Software in Pairs To Improve Understanding
Pair programming can reveal gaps in your knowledge or assumptions you didn't know you had.
It's important to admit when you don't know something and to show your partner how to look it up. If you need help, accept it and show them how you plan to get unblocked. Additionally, it's important to admit when you're tired. There is no consensus on the ideal frequency of rotations, but rotating every 2-3 days is generally recommended. The person who remains throughout is known as the "anchor". This helps to ensure that knowledge is spread and the quality of work remains high.
There are costs associated with every rotation.
It takes time to onboard a new person, and there is a price to pay for the context switch for one of the two partners. Without a constant anchor, the risk of losing tacit knowledge about the problem and solution space increases, leading to rework.
In reality, knowledge is not confined to specific tasks on a board but is required to deploy functionality.
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When working together on coding, there are two roles that people can take - the Driver and the Navigator.
The Driver is the person who is typing and focuses on completing the immediate task. They should discuss what they are doing and review the code. The Navigator observes and focuses on the bigger picture, noting potential issues or obstacles. They can think more while the driver concentrates on the details.
By working together in this way, both roles can contribute to the project's success.
The developers also plan, discuss, and clarify their work while developing better solutions. This method involves constant communication and is not limited to writing code. Pair programming brings more intellectual firepower to the challenge.
Two programmers tend to produce better quality code than working alone.
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