The case for collaborative programming

Abstract

This article presents a technical opinion in the case of collaborative programming for a large, complex system, in which two programmers are working jointly on the same algorithm and code. A field experiment was conducted using experienced programmers who worked on a challenging problem important to their organization, in their own environments, and with their own equipment. Findings revealed that all the teams outperformed the individual programmers, enjoyed the problem-solving process more, and had greater confidence in their solutions. Several aspects of this experiment make the results significant. First, there may be a tendency to dismiss results using small groups. Questions may arise at the value of these results if the collaborators do not perform twice as well as individuals, at least in the amount of time spent. The article concludes that the crunch-time information systems development will demand innovative ways to produce high-quality systems in a short time, with companies increasingly introducing new products. This rare experimental research is phenomenon considering the luxury of using collaborative programming while many companies are experiencing shortages of experienced programmer/analysts.