“All too often when others are talking, we’re getting ready to speak instead of listening,” said Behavioral Scientist Francesca Gino in a 2019 Harvard Business Review article about sustained collaboration.
This phenomenon is one that any tech professional is well aware of. And it can lead to miscommunication after miscommunication during teamwork-based assignments like pair programming. Lead Software Engineer Mike Tecson said that in his experience at ClubLabs, a high EQ helps engineers avoid conflict during such sessions. The company’s engineering team follows Agile principles, programming in pairs for the majority of the workday.
While pair programming is largely dependent on individual competence and buy-in, it also relies on the compatibility of the pair. When done well, Tecson said pair programming can lead to valuable knowledge transfer between teammates.
“It facilitates context-sharing among the team so that an individual person doesn’t become the single source of truth for any solution,” Tecson said.
How is your team using pair programming?
Engineering holds to the extreme programming (XP) philosophy, so we utilize pair programming across all teams. Pairs program together anywhere from six to seven hours a day. Because we believe this works well for our organization, we also pair program with any potential candidates.
What are the pros and cons of pair programming?
Pair programming has many benefits. It enables collaboration, which helps us get to solutions faster. It also facilitates context-sharing among the team so that an individual person doesn’t become the single source of truth for any solution. It grows the team rather than the individual. There are fewer coding mistakes, as they are caught early on. It has also proven to be a helpful practice when onboarding new team members.
The challenges of pair programming are that both pairs should be equally engaged and actively participate for the duration of the task. If one of the individuals is not engaged, it makes pairing more of a burden than a joy. You must also be comfortable programming your solution and being able to communicate it with your pair. This is a skill that not all engineers possess or care to have.
If one of the individuals is not engaged, it makes pairing more of a burden than a joy.’’
What makes an effective pair?
An effective pair has the ability to communicate their solutions and thoughts clearly. They also know how to strike the right balance between communicating solutions, requesting feedback and driving forward with the task without becoming too chatty. An effective pair is also socially aware. They are first and foremost engineers, but they also know how to pick up on social cues that help them foster collaboration and avoid conflict.
Lastly, an effective pair takes initiative and strives to learn. They do not rely on their partner to drive solutions, but rather are looking to contribute.
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