The Effect of Pairs in Program Design Tasks

Pair programming involves-two developers simultaneously collaborating with each other on the same programming task to design and code a solution. Algorithm design and its implementation are normally interwoven in that implementation often provides feedback to enhance the design. Previous controlled...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIEEE transactions on software engineering Vol. 34; no. 2; pp. 197 - 211
Main Authors Kim Man Lui, Chan, K.C.C., Nosek, J.T.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York IEEE 01.03.2008
IEEE Computer Society
Subjects
Algorithm design and analysis
Algorithms
Aptitude
Collaboration
Collaborative software
Collaborative work
Computer programming
Computer programs
Digital Object Identifier
Dynamic programming
Experimental design
Experiments
Job rotation
PAT
Problem solving
Product design
Productivity
Programmers
Programming
Programming profession
Programming teams
Skills
Software
Software engineering
Software quality
Studies
Switches
Tasks
Testing
Time measurement
University students
Experimental design
Programming teams
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Summary:Pair programming involves-two developers simultaneously collaborating with each other on the same programming task to design and code a solution. Algorithm design and its implementation are normally interwoven in that implementation often provides feedback to enhance the design. Previous controlled pair programming experiments did not explore the efficacy of pairs versus individuals in program design-related tasks separately from coding. Variations in programmer skills in a particular language or an integrated development environment and the understanding of programming instructions can mask the skill of subjects in program design-related tasks. Programming aptitude tests (PATs) have been shown to correlate with programming performance. PATs do not require understanding of programming instructions and do not require a skill in any specific computer language. Two controlled experiments were conducted, with full-time professional programmers being the subjects who worked on increasingly complex programming aptitude tasks related to problem solving and algorithmic design. In both experiments, pairs significantly outperformed individuals, providing evidence of the value of pairs in program design-related tasks.
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ISSN:0098-5589
1939-3520
DOI:10.1109/TSE.2007.70755