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Are Reviews an Alternative to Pair Programming?

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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 personnel cost when compared to single developers seems to outweigh these advantages. Instead of showing the superiority of pair programming, we seek an alternative. Can a single developer be assisted by an already known technique with which he produces the quality of pairs with only a fraction of the cost? The answer with some restrictions is: yes, he can. Reviews are a reasonable candidate with respect to code quality and cost.

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Authors
  1. Matthias M. Müller
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Müller, M.M. Are Reviews an Alternative to Pair Programming?. Empirical Software Engineering 9, 335–351 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EMSE.0000039883.47173.39

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EMSE.0000039883.47173.39

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