Why we do it

Become a more effective engineer!

Communication & Collaboration

No engineer works in isolation

Communication Skills

• Communication skills are just as, if not more, important as technical skills
• Being an effective engineer entails practicing empathy

Expression Skills

• Practice expressing your ideas and execution plan
• Learn to use the correct language

Listening Skills

• Expand your mind through learning from others
  • different approaches, tools, best practices
• Practice understanding another person's thought process

Collaboration

Two heads are often better than one!

• Bring more ideas to the table
• Get perspective and discuss various approaches
• Extra pair of eyes - catch more bugs
• On the job you'll be collaborating with others on a team

How we do it

Driver / Navigator Dynamics

Driver vs Navigator Roles

Driver

• Hands on the keyboard

• Listens for direction from Navigator

  • Understand the plan (ask questions!)

  • Write pseudocode and actual code

Use one shared computer. Both people should be looking at the same set of files.

Navigator

• Totally hands off

• Expresses what to do and how to do it using plain English 

  • "iterate through the array", NOT "write for-var-i-equals-zero-semi-colon..."

Logistics

• Find someone new to pair with
• Briefly re-introduce yourselves
• Work off the same computer
• Agree on starting roles (driver vs. navigator)
• Switch off and aim for a 50/50 balance

Make it a positive experience

• Have one another in mind
  • Spend time getting on the same page and communicating rather than racing to the finish line!
• Be curious about how other people approach problems and what you can learn from them

Be a good pair - Senior Person

If you find yourself more experienced than your pair, take this as an opportunity to...

• practice communicating clearly
• deepen your understanding
• solidify your technical skills
• practice teaching and empathy 
  • remember what it was like when you were less experienced
• make a positive impact on another person!

Be a good pair - Junior Person

If you find yourself less experienced than your pair, take this as an opportunity to...

• deepen your understanding
• solidify your technical skills
• be curious and ask questions
• express when you don't understand something
• be grateful for the outside support!

Useful Tips

What to do and

what not to do

Good Practices

• check in with one another regularly
• provide feedback to improve the experience
• practice patience, empathy, and understanding
• if there's conflict, talk to instructor or TA 

Antipatterns

​Be sure to avoid the following:

• hogging the driver's seat
• being too afraid to navigate
• being too aggressive or too shy
• navigating while driving
• stubborn attachment to your own ideas
• being offensive, rude, or condescending

Pair Programming Reflections

Look back on your experiences...

Value gained

• Communication skills
  • expression
  • listening
  • empathy
• Collaboration
  • knowledge sharing
  • different perspectives and approaches
  • immediate bug squashing
  • connecting with awesome people

Challenges faced

Lessons Learned

What lessons have you learned and how will you apply them?

Keep it up!!