Support for Distributed Pair Programming in the Transparent Video Facetop

The Transparent Video Facetop is a novel user interface concept that supports not only single-user interactions with a PC, but also close pair collaborations, such as that found in collaborative Web browsing, remote medicine, and in distributed pair programming. We recently demonstrated the Vis-a-Vid Facetop prototype as a single-user GUI for manipulating the elements of a traditional WIMP desktop [16]. In this paper we discuss the use of the Facetop for solving several problems reported to us by teams doing distributed pair programming. Specifically, the Facetop allows a distributed pair to recapture some the facial expressions and face-to-face communications contact lost in earlier distributed sessions. It also allows members of a distributed pair to point conveniently, quickly, and naturally to their shared work, in the same manner (manually) that they do when seated side-by-side. Our results enhance the ability of organizations to do effective XP-style agile development with distributed teams. Distributed Pair Programming Previous research [17,19] has indicated that pair programming is better than individual programming in a co-located environment. Do these results also apply to distributed pairs? It has been established that distance matters [18]; face-to-face pair programmers will most likely outperform distributed pair programmers in terms of sheer productivity. However, the inevitability of distributed work in industry and education calls for research in determining how to make this type of work most effective. Additionally, Extreme Programming (XP) [1,2] usually has co-located pairs working in front of the same workstation, a limitation that ostensibly hinders use of XP for distributed development of software. We have been investigating a video-enhanced programming environment for the past year for use in distributed Pair Programming and distributed Extreme Programming (dPP/dXP) [1,2]. Pair programming is a software engineering technique where two programmers sit at one PC to develop code. One types (“drives”) while the other reviews and assists (“navigates”); roles swap frequently. The benefits of pair programming are well known in co-located situations [3]; we have been exploring if they remain in distributed contexts [6,7,15]. Video was one issue discussed at a workshop on distributed pair programming at XP/AU 2002. This workshop was attended by over 30 people, many of whom had tried some form of distributed pair programming and were working on tools to improve the effectiveness of such activities. The consensus on video was that “webcam” style, postage stamp video – small image and low frame rate – was of little value in enhancing communications or sense of presence in a distributed pairing. However, it was felt that video, if large enough and real enough, was of potential value and worth further research. We have been doing that research since that time. Figure 1: Facetop physical setup, with iBot video camera