Communications of the ACM
Computer Programmers Learn Tough Lesson in Sharing
Software engineers Cameron Cundiff and Sabrina Staedt work together at a station at Pivotal Labs.
Credit: Mustafah Abdulaziz / The Wall Street Journal
Some Silicon Valley companies are instituting pair programming in which two people share a desk and a computer, with one programmer designated a driver who mans the keyboard and the other a navigator who monitors software design and looks for bugs. Proponents say the method enables coders to spot costly software errors and makes them less likely to waste time Web-surfing. The technique's popularity is rooted in a text by Facebook programmer Kent Beck, who advocates the swifter release of software and improvements along the way, which can happen faster through double-teaming on projects.
EMC subsidiary Pivotal Labs pairs its 175 engineers all day each day, while Square lets developers choose when and how they want to double-team. Square reports that about 15 percent of its programmers pair full time, while 50 percent do it occasionally.
The effectiveness of pair programming can be complicated if the programming partners have difficulty meshing, and efforts may have to be made for the pair to reach a compromise. "Some people have idiosyncrasies like talking to themselves and that can drive the other person nuts," notes consultant Bryan Kocol.
From The Wall Street Journal
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