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When Does a Pair Outperform Two Individuals?

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Extreme Programming and Agile Processes in Software Engineering (XP 2003)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 2675))

Abstract

This paper reports experimental measurements of productivity and quality in pair programming. The work complements Laurie Williams’ work on collaborative programming, in which Pair Programming and Solo Programming student groups wrote the same programs and then their activities were measured to investigate productivity, quality, etc. In this paper, Pair and Solo industrial programmer groups are requested to complete algorithm-style aptitude tests so as to observe the capability of solving algorithms in singles and in pairs. So doing is independent of the familiarity of a programming language. Besides, we also take another approach to examining pair programming. A single group of industrial programmers carries alternately out Pair Programming and Solo Programming. All these demonstrate that productivity in pair programming hinges upon algorithm design at all levels from understanding problems and implementing solutions. In addition, we reach similar conclusions to Williams. Our findings indicate that simple design, refactoring, and rapid feedback provide an excellent continuous-design environment for higher productivity in pair programming.

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References

  1. Williams, L. The Collaborative Software Process, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Utah, (2000)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

    Kim Man Lui & Keith C. C. Chan

Authors
  1. Kim Man Lui
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  2. Keith C. C. Chan
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Piazza D’Ami, 09123, Cagliari, Italy

    Michele Marchesi

  2. Free University of Bozen/Bolzano, Center for Applied Software Engineering, Piazza Domenicani 3, 39100, Bozen/Bolzano, Italy

    Giancarlo Succi

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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lui, K.M., Chan, K.C.C. (2003). When Does a Pair Outperform Two Individuals?. In: Marchesi, M., Succi, G. (eds) Extreme Programming and Agile Processes in Software Engineering. XP 2003. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2675. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44870-5_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44870-5_28

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-40215-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-44870-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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