Development & Code · master area · gap

Pair Programming / Mobbing

Two developers at one keyboard — or three or four — solving a problem live. Practiced in some teams, not yet addressed in any volume. The most reliable knowledge-transfer technique known, and the most controversial.

This is a gap area

The chain does not currently prescribe pairing or mobbing. Some teams use it; some don't. The chain accommodates either, but it does not yet have a considered position. Filling this is part of the corpus's job.

Owners: Developer, Tech Lead Phase it would live in: How We Build (Volume IV)

When pairing is the answer

• Onboarding — a new developer pairs with an experienced one for the first two stories. Faster than reading docs, more durable than slack threads. The chain artefact this complements: shadow one story end-to-end.
• High-risk change — the migration that touches every consumer; the auth flow rewrite. Pair to halve the blast radius and double the brains in the room.
• Stuck debugging — fresh eyes find the bug. Pairing for an hour is cheaper than spinning solo for a day.
• Knowledge transfer — the developer who built the billing integration pairs with the next owner before they leave. The chain's institutional memory hedge becomes a live transfer.

When pairing is not the answer

• Routine work — a CRUD endpoint, a copy fix, a clear refactor. Solo work is faster and pairing adds friction without learning.
• Async teams — pairing across timezones is expensive theatre. Async review with high-quality writing does the same work.
• Mandated pairing — pairing imposed as policy produces resentment and silent solo work in evenings. The practice has to be chosen by the people doing it.

What a session would look like (when adopted)

• Driver and navigator — one types, one thinks. Swap every 25 minutes.
• Talk continuously — narrate the thought, not just the keystrokes. Silent pairing is solo work with an audience.
• End with a commit — the session produces a small, well-named commit that captures what was learned. Otherwise the pair leaves with two heads and no artefact.

Related crafts

• Knowledge Retention — the closest in-chain practice
• Onboarding — pairing's natural home
• Code Review — async pairing, written down