{"id":95297,"date":"2020-10-22T19:00:21","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T16:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/a-comprehensive-list-of-reasons-why-pair-programming-sucks\/"},"modified":"2020-10-22T19:00:21","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T16:00:21","slug":"a-comprehensive-list-of-reasons-why-pair-programming-sucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/a-comprehensive-list-of-reasons-why-pair-programming-sucks\/","title":{"rendered":"#A comprehensive list of reasons why pair programming sucks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#A comprehensive list of reasons why pair programming sucks<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                            <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cult.honeypot.io\/reads\/i-hate-pair-programming\/\">article<\/a> was originally published on <\/span><\/i><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cult.honeypot.io\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.cult<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Mynah Marie. .<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world.<\/span><\/i><i><br \/><\/i><\/p>\n<p>I fell in love with programming because of the feeling of losing myself in ideas and concepts while being completely alone for hours on end. There\u2019s just something about it, you know?<\/p>\n<p>When I decided to enroll in a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cult.honeypot.io\/reads\/should-i-join-a-coding-bootcamp\">coding Bootcamp<\/a>, I thought it would give me the opportunity to meet other people just like me. Little did I know, I was about to meet my nemesis: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.agilealliance.org\/glossary\/pairing\/\"><u>pair programming<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of things I like about Agile development. I even do, now, believe in the power of pair programming. But it\u2019s not because I can see the benefits of this technique that I necessarily like it. In fact, I deeply hate it. Not because I think it\u2019s not effective, just because, in my case, it took all the fun out of programming.<\/p>\n<p>[Read:\u00a0<em>What audience intelligence data tells us about the 2020 US presidential election<\/em>]<\/p>\n<p>Here are some benefits of pair programming that I personally experienced:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It improved my <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cult.honeypot.io\/reads\/soft-skills-in-career\">communication skills<\/a> and the way I work in teams.<\/li>\n<li>I did see, first hand, some programmers drastically improve their skills by working consistently in pairs (but at what price for their partners\u2026).<\/li>\n<li>\n<i>*Five\u00a0minutes staring at my screen trying to find another benefit\u2026* <\/i>Sorry I think that\u2019s it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After a few days of Bootcamp, I had my first traumatizing pair programming experience.<\/p>\n<p>We were solving basic JS challenges. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/martinfowler.com\/articles\/on-pair-programming.html#DriverAndNavigator\"><u>I was the <\/u><u><i>navigator<\/i><\/u><\/a> and he was the <i>driver<\/i>. Even though I hated the fact of not being able to type the code myself, I tried to make the most out of the exercise by asking a lot of questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i>\u201cWhy did you name your variable like that?\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>\u201cWhy did you write this in a separate function?\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n<li><i>\u201cCan we try my way just to see if it works?\u201d<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At some point, without any warning, my partner got up and left the room leaving me to my puzzlement. Turns out, someone asking loads of questions every two minutes is pretty annoying to most people.<\/p>\n<p>And there started my long descent to hell.<\/p>\n<p>Goodbye, the good old days when I\u2019d program for 18 hours straight from the comfort of my bed.<\/p>\n<p>Goodbye, the peaceful moments with myself when I\u2019d spend days, sometimes weeks before thinking of talking to another human being.<\/p>\n<p>Goodbye, the joys of working on ideas of my own.<\/p>\n<p>One day, while I was at an emotional all-time low, I confessed to one of the instructors and told him that, literally, I hate pair programming.<\/p>\n<p>His answer couldn\u2019t have surprised me more: <i>\u201cOh! yeah\u2026 pair programming is horrible.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Finally, my aversion was acknowledged!<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not against pair programming. In fact, I really do believe it\u2019s great for some people. I even think it could\u2019ve been great for me if I would\u2019ve been paired with more experienced pair programmers. But since we were all learning, most students made horrible partners (me included).<\/p>\n<p>I know there are other people like me out there, who suffered at the hand of this technique and never dared to speak up because, in some cases, it can close doors to potential jobs.<\/p>\n<p>But I\u2019m not looking for a job anymore, so I don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n<p>So for your entertainment, here\u2019s a comprehensive list of the reasons why I hate pair programming:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<b>I hate typing on someone else\u2019s computer.<\/b> On my machine, I have my flow. Besides, some keyboards are really disgusting. If we\u2019re going to pair program, cleaning up our keyboards every morning should be mandatory.<\/li>\n<li>\n<b>I hate it when someone else types on my computer.<\/b> Especially someone who I just saw eating a massive juicy burger 10 minutes before and who didn\u2019t even bother washing his hands.<\/li>\n<li>What is it about these <b>constant breaks after 20\u201330 minutes of work<\/b>? Take a break. Come back. My turn to type. 10 minutes to figure out where we left off. 10 more minutes to figure out how to move forward. 5 minutes later, I start to get in the groove and 5 minutes after that: <i>\u201cHey, can we take a break?\u201d<\/i> Arghhhh\u2026..<\/li>\n<li>\n<b>Egotistical partners.<\/b> You know, the kind who thinks they know everything better than you, or the guy that mansplains everything, or the legitimate genius who\u2019s definitely way smarter than you but does his best to come down to <i>your level<\/i> (I mean, it\u2019s sweet, but still extremely annoying).<\/li>\n<li>\n<b>Passive partners.<\/b> The ones completely shutting down just because you know something they didn\u2019t. Or the lazy ones more than h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>y to let you do all the work (honestly, that\u2019s a best-case scenario). Or the person who really wants to learn but doesn\u2019t get it at all, no matter how patiently you explain (remember what I said in the benefits above? Yeah, the price is high).<\/li>\n<li>\n<b>The micro-managers.<\/b> They tell you what you need to type before you even have a chance to type it (<i>\u201cYes, I know I need to write a semi-colon, it was just a typo\u2026 LET ME TYPE THE DAMN THING BEFORE SAYING SOMETHING!!!!\u201d<\/i> That last screaming part was just in my head, though there were a thousand situations where I wished I could\u2019ve bashed that person\u2019s head against a wall, if I\u2019m honest).<\/li>\n<li>\n<b>Noise<\/b>. Oh-my-god. A room full of people, working in teams, oscillating between having too much of a good time and arguing. The noise would get so out of control, someone literally (I\u2019m not making this up) had to get up and yell <i>\u201cSHUT UP!\u201d<\/i> for everyone to quiet down for about 5 minutes. I\u2019ve never had more intense headaches after a workday.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cult.honeypot.io\/reads\/insiders-guide-to-agile\">Agile, I love you<\/a>. You taught me the value of working in teams and learning from one another. The experience was horrendous but meaningful nonetheless.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m now a freelancer. Back to peace, working for hours on end from the comfort of my home, with minimum human contact. The reality which became a dream is now my reality once more, with the added benefit of financial rewards.<\/p>\n<p>I think I found my path.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1324844 lazy\" alt=\"\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-22-at-9.35.45-AM.png\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/syndication\/2020\/10\/22\/a-comprehensive-list-of-reasons-why-pair-programming-sucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#A comprehensive list of reasons why pair programming sucks&#8221; This article was originally published on .cult by Mynah Marie. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world. I fell in love with programming because&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95298,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2020\/10\/image-4-7.png&signature=33a7f9dc63e3499012ce97847e8d84f8","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[76781,76782,76477,76478,70759],"class_list":["post-95297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-coding","tag-freelancer","tag-programmer","tag-software-developer","tag-tech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}