Pair programming
Pair programming has two engineers at one workstation, alternating between driver (typing) and navigator (reviewing, suggesting, thinking ahead). Practiced widely at Pivotal, Thoughtworks, and other XP-heritage organisations. Code emerges code-reviewed by default.
Pairing's reputation for being slow doesn't survive contact with the data — pairs typically deliver fewer lines per hour but with substantially fewer defects, less rework, and faster team-wide knowledge spread. The practice doesn't suit every workflow (deep focus tasks, exploratory spikes), but for production code it's well-supported by research. Variants: ping-pong pairing (driver writes a test, navigator makes it pass, swap), strong-style pairing (idea must pass through other person's keyboard).
Related terms
- Mob programming
Mob programming is a practice where the entire team works on the same problem at the same time, on the same screen, with one person typing (the 'driver') and the rest navigating.
- Swarm pattern
Swarming is the practice of having multiple team members work on the same story until it's done, then move together to the next.