97 Things Every Programmer Should Know

Chapter 85. Two Heads Are Often Better Than One

Adrian Wible

PROGRAMMING REQUIRES DEEP THOUGHT, and deep thought requires solitude. So goes the programmer stereotype.

This “lone wolf” approach to programming has been giving way to a more collaborative approach, which, I would argue, improves quality, productivity, and job satisfaction for programmers. This approach has developers working more closely with one another and also with nondevelopers—business and systems analysts, quality assurance professionals, and users.

What does this mean for developers? Being the expert technologist is no longer sufficient. You must become effective at working with others.

Collaboration is not about asking and answering questions or sitting in meetings. It’s about rolling up your sleeves with someone else to jointly attack work.

I’m a big fan of pair programming. You might call this “extreme collaboration.” As a developer, my skills grow when I pair. If I am weaker than my pairing partner in the domain or technology, I clearly learn from his or her experience. When I am stronger in some aspect, I learn more about what I know and don’t know by having to explain myself. Invariably, we both bring something to the table and learn from each other.

When pairing, we each bring our collective programming experiences—domain as well as technical—to the problem at hand and can bring unique insight ...