how to pair program, and how important is pre-coding?
Posted by zelscore@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 5 comments
how to pair program when the skill difference is huge? how to program as a team (student group project) when the team immediately jumps to coding without any pre-planning such as specification, use cases, diagrams etc? We get stuck on the most basic shit which is frustrating.
any ideas, or just git gud?
ZestyHelp@reddit
There are different ways of pair programming, when the skill difference is huge the person with more experience “drives” while the person with less is almost like a passenger. You basically guide them and let them code while you watch etc
Hillgrove@reddit
did that come out wrong?
as it sounds like you're saying the experienced person is both coding and guiding/watching.
ZestyHelp@reddit
“Driving” can be taken a few different ways here I mean driving as in navigating what to do e.g “next we need to do this try that out” the less experienced person is writing
Hillgrove@reddit
got it.. thanks for the clarification.
iOSCaleb@reddit
For starters, why are you pair programming? It's fine if that's what you want to do, but doing it well requires some extra effort, so you should know what you're trying to gain from pair programming.
That's rather a different question. Pair programming might or might not help; it can be a good way for a less experienced programmer to get up to speed, but only if the more experienced person is a good teacher. If the more experienced person just takes over and does the project while the other watches, that doesn't really help the newbie at all.
Are they working that way because that's all they know how to do? Do they not believe that planning will lead to a better product in the end?
If you're part of the team and you know how to plan and manage a software project, this kind of thing is a perfect opportunity to build your leadership skills. Tell your team "look, I know how we can do this better and faster" and make a case for what you want to do. You might be outvoted, or they might listen, depending on how persuasive you are. Make sure that you don't just appoint yourself the final authority on everything, though... it's a group project and everybody should have a say.