Even Sherlock Holmes was pairing. Are you? Let's find some good practices! During my work I am used to pair with my colleagues on basically anything. I do pair-programming when I develop software, we use pairing when we deliver trainings or when we write articles. I often do remote pair-programming with strangers. The most things I learned during the last years were by working in pair with someone I barely knew. Pairing for me has the following main advantages: - I learn a lot from my pair - I extend my confort zone and I collaborate better with anyone - the product we work together is a lot better because four eyes are better than two I will give examples from the activities of the well-known fictional character Sherlock Holmes on how his pair Dr. Watson helps him become better and finding the answer to their riddles.

1. Sherlock Holmes
And
Pairing
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2. Me
Adi Bolboacă
Programmer
Organizational & Technical
Trainer & Coach
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3. Pairing. Why. When.
Do you pair?
Why do you pair?
How often?
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4. Pairing roles
Driver
Navigator
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5. Driver
Takes the decisions
Consults with the Navigator
Focuses on short term actions
Verbalizes all the performed actions
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6. Navigator
Looks ahead for strategy
Annoyingly rechecks the facts of the Driver
Asks meaningful questions
Verbalizes agreement or disagreement
Does not cross the Driver's comfort zone
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7. Holmes & Watson pairing
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8. Holmes driving: action
“Holmes took his revolver from his drawer
and slipped it in his pocket. It was clear
that he thought that our night's work
might be a serious one.”
Sherlock Holmes
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9. Holmes driving: data
“Data! Data! Data!” he cried impatiently.
“I can't make bricks without clay.”
“There is nothing more deceptive than an
obvious fact.”
Sherlock Holmes
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10. Watson being a Navigator
“If I irritated him by a certain methodical
slowness in my mentality, that irritation
served only to make his own flame­like
intuitions and impressions flash up the
more vividly and swiftly”
Dr. Watson
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11. Watson navigating: Facts
The navigator remembers facts to the driver
The navigator supports driver's decisions
The navigator needs to see options ahead
Processing data is hard for navigation
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12. Holmes & Watson: Learning
“Education never ends, Watson. It is a
series of lessons, with the greatest for the
last.”
Sherlock Holmes
"I have not lived for years with Sherlock
Holmes for nothing."
Dr. Watson
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13. Holmes & Watson: Recap
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14. Holmes & Watson: Recap
Drive or Navigate
Observe well. Verbalize.
Give meaningful suggestions
Being a navigator is hard
Pairing is learning
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15. Some pairing ideas
Pair-programming (with testers also)
Pair-facilitation
Pair-talking
Pair-writing (collective text ownership)
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16. Pair-programming
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17. Pair-programming
Can be done anywhere: office, pub, etc
Change roles/keyboard very often
Outcomes: learning, better products
Fastest feedback cycle in Agile
Can be difficult
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18. Pair-programming: Navigator
Adi tells story of Ron Jeffries being a
navigator
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19. Pair-facilitation
Can be done by anyone
Just ask someone to pair when facilitating
Outcome: learn better your skills
Outcome: be a better listener
Outcome: simplify&clarify your explanations
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20. Pair-talking
Fast feedback on content
Outcome: the talk has better content
Outcome: learn a lot from your pair
Outcome: you learn more from audience
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21. Pair-writing
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22. Pair-writing
Easier to start writing
The book can be finished faster
Fast feedback on content
Learning opportunity from your pair
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23. Pairing
Did I inspire you to pair?
What other ideas for paring do you have?
When would you start paring?
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24. Contact me
Unit testing workshop @adibolb
Remote pair-programming
TDD workshop
Refactoring workshop
Legacy code workshop
Legacy code retreat
Code retreat
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25. Extend your mentoring & training
capacity
Accelerate learning through
communities of practice
Grow your functional leaders and top
talents
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adrian.bolboaca@mozaicworks.com
@adibolb
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26. Thank you!
The slides will be available on
Slideshare&Twitter
Questions?
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27. Images
http://img.thesun.co.uk/aidemitlum/archive/01090/SNF2301TVCC-380_1090987a.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paget_holmes.png
http://seanbanville.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/writing.jpg
http://agile2012.agilealliance.org/files/5113/3529/2537/Ron_Jeffries-nobull.jpg
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