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Title
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Pair-Design: an empirical perspective. The effects of Pair-Design on the quality of products and the efficiency and productivity of the process.
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| Author(s) |
Al-Kilidar, Hiyam, Computer Science & Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, UNSW
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| Resource Type |
Thesis
PhD Doctorate
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| Date |
2008 |
| Description/Abstract |
As competition for sophisticated software innovations continues to escalate, so does the need to develop better quality products through efficient and productive processes. Delivering design-products of high quality standards is crucial to improve the quality of the final product and the efficiency of the whole development process. There is empirical evidence to support improving quality of code by utilising pair programming. Nevertheless, mixed findings about the efficiency and productivity of the pair programming process are also reported. Literature asserts that the early detection and fixing of errors and faults will contribute to a more efficient and productive development lifecycle. However, empirical studies of the application of the Pair-Work techniques into earlier phases of the development lifecycle such as the design phase have not been adequately investigated. Conducting empirical research to evaluate the quality of design-products is challenging. The difficulty is not only associated with the precise identification of quality attributes and measures of design products, but also in how to extract such information from the many different design styles.
The research reported in this thesis provides details of an empirical study that evaluated quality of design artefacts as well as the efficiency and productivity of the design-process of pair and solo designers. An experimentation program was designed and conducted with 175 student subjects. The experimental program investigated 3 main research questions: (1) Does the Pair-design process have an effect on the quality of designs when compared to solo-design process? (2) Does the pair design process affect the efficiency and productivity of the design process when compared with solo design process? (3) What factors affected the experience and practices of partners in the pair-design process?
The findings showed that when compared with solo designing, the Pair-Design process positively affected the quality of the design-products. Other findings showed that the when measured in person-hours, the efficiency of the Pair-Design process was less than that of the solo- design process. However, when measured in hours of elapsed time, the pair design process was largely more efficient than the solo design process. The pair design process positively affected the productivity of the design process compared to the solo design process. It was also shown that pair design improved design performance of partners when they subsequently designed as solos. Partners also reported having a better learning experience, more confidence in their output products, better sense of achievement and a more enjoyable experience. |
| Language |
EN |
| Rights |
Please click here to view the rights |
| Print Availability |
T/2008/186 (Ask at Level 2 Information Desk, UNSW Library) |
| Citation Link |
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/41292 |
| Full Text | 
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| Total Attachment(s) | 2 |
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