Comment by skybrian
3 days ago
One way to fix it: pair programming. You're getting feedback in real time as you write the code.
Unfortunately, the conditions where it works well can be difficult to set up. You need people who are into it and have similar schedules. And you don't want two people waiting for tests to run.
Anyone actually done long-term pair programming and lived to tell the tale? Is it real, or just a utopian fantasy?
It's not for everyone. Some people have excellent reasons why it isn't workable for them. Others have had terrible experiences. It takes a great deal of practice to be a good pair and, if you don't start by working with an experienced pair, your memories of pairing are unlikely to be fond.
However.
I paired full-time, all day, at Pivotal, for 5 years. It was incredible. Truly amazing. The only time in my career when I really thrived. I miss it badly.
I did it at a startup for a few months. The startup failed, but I think it was more of a business failure.
Pivotal Labs was a contracting firm that did it for years. They aren’t around anymore, but they had a good run:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pivotal_Labs
It's crazy that we go out of our way to design processes (code review, design review) to avoid actually just... working together? And then we design organizations that optimize for those processes instead of optimizing for collaboration.