Does Pair Programming Pay Off?

Abstract

Pair programming means two developers working together closely on the same software development task on a single computer. It is not obvious whether this is an efficient practice: While a pair can often work faster and better, it also occupies two team members. We have studied this for several years by analyzing recordings of dozens of actual industrial pair programming sessions. Our observations suggest that pair programming that pays off will typically (need to) exhibit high process fluency. They also suggest that it is going to pay off when the pair members’ knowledge is highly complementary.