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The studies I've seen about pairing show that it's OK for beginners or lower-skill developers, but absolutely less productive for expert/senior developers. So

The studies I've seen about pairing show that it's OK for beginners or lower-skill developers, but absolutely less productive for expert/senior developers. So yes, you're correct.

dgb23 5y ago
I would say that there is still a benefit of pairing an expert with a novice now and then. Not for productivity but for long term effects. They cannot be _too_ far apart though.
- SomeCallMeTim 4y ago
  Occasional pairing, especially for knowledge transfer, is great. It's the 100% pairing, or worse, 100% mob programming (up to six people with one screen!) that I can't believe would ever be more efficient than the programmers working independently. Sure, have a party and mob-program for fun for an afternoon, or solve a particularly sticky problem that way, or use it to transfer knowledge about the system to the wider team. Have a blast, and teach everyone something useful at the same time. By all means. Just don't pretend (as pairing/mobbing advocates do; not you) that two people sitting at a computer can be as efficient at day-to-day coding as two people coding separately, unless at least one of the two is a junior or near-incompetent developer who would contribute negative productivity on their own.
JohnKacz 5y ago
Forgive my possible laziness in searching, but do you by chance have links to some of the studies you reference?
- SomeCallMeTim 4y ago
  Sorry, don't have the references handy.
jkaptur 5y ago
There are high-profile cases of world-class developers pairing: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/12/10/the-friendship-that-made-google-huge https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/12/10/the-friendship...
- Jensson 5y ago
  Right, if you have a really good friend who just clicks with you pairing is great. But that isn't how pair programming at companies is done, they put you together with some other member of the team and tell you to do work, you didn't choose each other you just happened to be there and now you have to be mentally intimate with each other. But you are right that voluntary pair programming can be a good thing, so we shouldn't ban programmers from pairing if they want to. But the discussion is whether it makes sense to force programmers to pair program. I really doubt that for example pairing John Carmack and Linus Torvalds would be productive, and that is the kind of personal pairings you get at work.
- SomeCallMeTim 4y ago
  That's documenting an emergency, all-hands-on-deck response to a crisis. I absolutely can pair for such an event. I'll pair for knowledge transfer. I'll pair for fun. If every second counts, or if the goal isn't maximum productivity throughput, the sure, pair away. My point is not that it can't help for world-class developers, but rather that two world-class developers working on routine coding are absolutely not more efficient than two world-class developers working separately. And people who advocate for pairing typically advocate for 100% pairing. Which can be fun but it won't be more than 2x as productive as two world-class developers working independently.

The studies I've seen about pairing show that it's OK for beginners or lower-skill developers, but absolutely less productive for expert/senior developers. So yes, you're correct.

dgb23 5y ago

I would say that there is still a benefit of pairing an expert with a novice now and then. Not for productivity but for long term effects. They cannot be _too_ far apart though.

SomeCallMeTim 4y ago
Occasional pairing, especially for knowledge transfer, is great. It's the 100% pairing, or worse, 100% mob programming (up to six people with one screen!) that I can't believe would ever be more efficient than the programmers working independently. Sure, have a party and mob-program for fun for an afternoon, or solve a particularly sticky problem that way, or use it to transfer knowledge about the system to the wider team. Have a blast, and teach everyone something useful at the same time. By all means. Just don't pretend (as pairing/mobbing advocates do; not you) that two people sitting at a computer can be as efficient at day-to-day coding as two people coding separately, unless at least one of the two is a junior or near-incompetent developer who would contribute negative productivity on their own.

JohnKacz 5y ago

Forgive my possible laziness in searching, but do you by chance have links to some of the studies you reference?

SomeCallMeTim 4y ago
Sorry, don't have the references handy.

jkaptur 5y ago

There are high-profile cases of world-class developers pairing: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/12/10/the-friendship-that-made-google-huge https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/12/10/the-friendship...

Jensson 5y ago
Right, if you have a really good friend who just clicks with you pairing is great. But that isn't how pair programming at companies is done, they put you together with some other member of the team and tell you to do work, you didn't choose each other you just happened to be there and now you have to be mentally intimate with each other. But you are right that voluntary pair programming can be a good thing, so we shouldn't ban programmers from pairing if they want to. But the discussion is whether it makes sense to force programmers to pair program. I really doubt that for example pairing John Carmack and Linus Torvalds would be productive, and that is the kind of personal pairings you get at work.
SomeCallMeTim 4y ago
That's documenting an emergency, all-hands-on-deck response to a crisis. I absolutely can pair for such an event. I'll pair for knowledge transfer. I'll pair for fun. If every second counts, or if the goal isn't maximum productivity throughput, the sure, pair away. My point is not that it can't help for world-class developers, but rather that two world-class developers working on routine coding are absolutely not more efficient than two world-class developers working separately. And people who advocate for pairing typically advocate for 100% pairing. Which can be fun but it won't be more than 2x as productive as two world-class developers working independently.