The Many Styles of Pair Programming

Joining an agile team can be very challenging-new programming styles, new coding standards, new check-in requirements, new leadership styles, and more. Adding pair programming to the mix can be "the straw that broke the camel's back" or it can be key to team empowerment. Paul Julius has been a dedicated pair programmer since 1999, working on many projects with 100 percent pairing. Paul has distilled a set of positive and negative patterns that can develop when teams attempt pair programming. He begins by discussing the most frequent objections to pairing and then outlines why pair programmers deliver better applications. Paul demonstrates the techniques and skills you-or members of your team-need to become a successful pair programmer. He invites members of the audience to pair with him using several surefire pairing approaches that will keep developers out of the "Chewie seat." Take back a checklist of steps to eliminate many anti-pairing environmental factors seen in organizations.