Patterns of Pairing

In the early days of extreme programming, a number of patterns emerged that served to coordinate how two developers worked together. They probably came about because the concept of pairing was new, and most programmers weren’t used to anything other than working alone. Some of these patterns deal with issues specific to colocated pairs, but a few have carried over into remote pairing.

Tag Team

In this pattern, programmers take turns as the driver, who is in control of the keyboard, and the navigator, who contributes to the task verbally. The pair can alternate between these roles at preset time intervals or in an ad hoc fashion. In both cases, the driver writes code while the navigator acts as a reviewer and/or foreman. ...

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