Comments on: “Total Programming” and the XP Team http://blog.mattwynne.net/2008/11/08/total-programming-and-the-xp-team/ Matt Wynne taking it one tea at a time Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:23:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: blog.mattwynne.net : If Code is Written Solo in a Forest, Does it Make a Sound? http://blog.mattwynne.net/2008/11/08/total-programming-and-the-xp-team/comment-page-1/#comment-482 blog.mattwynne.net : If Code is Written Solo in a Forest, Does it Make a Sound? Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:36:13 +0000 http://blog.mattwynne.net/2008/11/08/total-programming-and-the-xp-team/#comment-482 <p>[...] written before about my views on the importance of pair programming as a way of building a common conciousness in [...]</p> [...] written before about my views on the importance of pair programming as a way of building a common conciousness in [...]

]]> By: Matt http://blog.mattwynne.net/2008/11/08/total-programming-and-the-xp-team/comment-page-1/#comment-350 Matt Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:57:08 +0000 http://blog.mattwynne.net/2008/11/08/total-programming-and-the-xp-team/#comment-350 <p>Absolutely! The paper referenced at the top of <a href="http://www.stuartwray.net/how-does-pair-programming-work-17-july-2008.pdf" rel="nofollow">this blog post</a> by Steve Freeman contains, amongst other interesting things, some discussion about cognitive science research suggesting that the 'chat' during pair programming keeps all the parts of your brain engaged in solving the problem. Something that doesn't happen so easily if you're working alone, in silence.</p> Absolutely! The paper referenced at the top of this blog post by Steve Freeman contains, amongst other interesting things, some discussion about cognitive science research suggesting that the ‘chat’ during pair programming keeps all the parts of your brain engaged in solving the problem. Something that doesn’t happen so easily if you’re working alone, in silence.

]]> By: Sarah Alen http://blog.mattwynne.net/2008/11/08/total-programming-and-the-xp-team/comment-page-1/#comment-349 Sarah Alen Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:19:15 +0000 http://blog.mattwynne.net/2008/11/08/total-programming-and-the-xp-team/#comment-349 <p>We used to do pair programming quite a bit when I started working at Laszlo and there were just two of us on the core client-side team. At first it was just an efficient way to learn. Then after I came up to speed in the code base we would do it whenever things were tricky. I don't hear people talk about it much, but I am quite fond of 'pair debugging' which I've found to be a very efficient way to isolate a bug when there is time pressure to fix it. I believe there is something about the social interaction which opens up new pathways of thought. There's a bunch of research in educational theory to support that about how we learn at a higher level when interacting with other people.</p> <p>I also agree with your point about the value of shared consciousness, which we more commonly achieve through peer code reviews. It seems to me that good code is typically a result of it being well-loved.</p> We used to do pair programming quite a bit when I started working at Laszlo and there were just two of us on the core client-side team. At first it was just an efficient way to learn. Then after I came up to speed in the code base we would do it whenever things were tricky. I don’t hear people talk about it much, but I am quite fond of ‘pair debugging’ which I’ve found to be a very efficient way to isolate a bug when there is time pressure to fix it. I believe there is something about the social interaction which opens up new pathways of thought. There’s a bunch of research in educational theory to support that about how we learn at a higher level when interacting with other people.

I also agree with your point about the value of shared consciousness, which we more commonly achieve through peer code reviews. It seems to me that good code is typically a result of it being well-loved.

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