Towards Understanding Communication Structure in Pair Programming

Abstract. Pair Programming has often been reported to be beneficial in software projects. To better understand where these benefits come from we evaluate the aspect of intra-pair communication. Under the assumption that the benefits stem from the information being exchanged, it is important to analyze the types of information being communicated. Based on the Goal Question Metric method we derive a set of relevant metrics and apply them in an eXtreme Programming class room project. Data covering a total of 22.9 hours of intra-pair communication was collected. We found that only 7 % of the conversations were off-topic (e.g. private), 11 % about requirements, 14 % about design, and 68 % about implementation details (e.g. syntax). Accordingly, a great share of the information being exchanged in Pair Programming is on a low level of abstraction. These results represent a first data point on what kind of information is communicated to what extent during Pair Programming

Effective Tool Support for Architectural Knowledge Sharing

Abstract. Knowledge management plays an important role in the software architecting process. Recently, this role has become more apparent by a paradigm shift that views a software architecture as the set of architectural design decisions it embodies. This shift has sparked the discussion in both research and practice on how to best facilitate sharing of so-called architectural knowledge, and how tools can best be employed. In order to design successful tool support for architectural knowledge sharing it is important to take into account what software architecting really entails. To this end, in this paper we define the main characteristics of architecting, based on observations in a large software development organization, and state-of-the-art literature in software architecture. Based on the defined characteristics, we determine how best practices known from knowledge management could be used to improve architectural knowledge sharing. This results in the definition of a set of desired properties of architectural knowledge sharing tools. To improve the status quo of architectural knowledge sharing tools, we present the design of an architectural knowledge sharing platform.