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by Jay Fields.
Original Post: Spellchecking Pair
Feed Title: Jay Fields Thoughts
Feed URL: http://blog.jayfields.com/rss.xml
Feed Description: Thoughts on Software Development
Pair programming is a controversial topic. The majority of the projects I've been involved with always have at least one skeptic on the team. The skeptics always cause me to take another look at the practice and see if the specific project provides a new point of view to the discussion.
On my last project I learned that large gaps in talent can turn a teammate into nothing more than a spellchecker. This generally seemed to happen when one member of a pair was significantly more skilled than the other. In the case of an experience gap the more skilled pair can slow down and mentor the junior pair member; however, sometimes a story needs to be completed as soon as possible. In the cases where time is very valuable it seems to make sense to rotate in a more experienced teammate or to split the pair until a more experienced teammate can join the pair.
While I generally prefer pairing, if a teammate is providing nothing more than spelling suggestions it is probably not the best use of his time. Furthermore, when an experienced teammate is required to slow down to explain things, then the pair is not closing the card as quickly as possible.
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