Abstract

From the first presentation of extreme programming on, pair programming has attracted a wide range of programmers to work together in front of one display. The proposed advantages of pair programming are a faster development cycle and code with higher quality. However, the nearly doubled personal cost when compared to single developers seems to outweigh these advantages. Instead of showing the superiority of pair programming, we seek for an alternative. Can a single developer be assisted by an already known technique with which he produces 80% of the quality of pairs with only 20% of the cost? The answer with some restrictions is: yes, he can. Reviews are a reasonable candidate with respect to code quality and cost.

Citations