Do you pair at all for me?
So far in my almost 5 weeks in Dev Bootcamp's Phase 0 I have had great experiences with paired programming. I think that pairing is a great way to not only expand your personal knowledge as a programmer from others knowledge, but to begin to see how others solve the same problems as you in their own ways. These are some of the major benefits I have seen through paired programming so far. A lot of times my pair has learned a little trick or a built-in method that I have yet to come across and are able to not only share that knowledge with me, but also show me how and when to implement it. This is so helpful to see it in real life as it is integrated into our code vs just reading about it online. The second part is how useful it is to see how others interpret the challenges and go about solving them. The beauty of programming is that many of the solutions have multiple ways of finding them, not every programmer thinks alike, so it is very fun to be challenged to try someone elses technique. It is particularly fun to work with upbeat people who are willing to take the reins and help out when I am struggling to comprehend a subject and at other times step back and let me help them where I can. Teamwork is something that I have always believed in very strongly and two heads is always better than one. I think everyone has their own ideas and way of approaching problems and when you can take mulitple personalities and thoughts and combine them into one idea, that is where most of the best ideas come from. So far I have not come acrossed any bad pairing sessions or partners so I can't say anything bad about it. I have heard of people pairing that just don't get along or that do get along but can't pair together but I am yet to experience it. Every time we have come across difficult problems, we have calmly communicated and worked together to find a solution. Overall I am excited to become part of community of team oriented strategy and have seen nothing but great people throughout the programming community willing to take a few minutes out of their days to help others. When it comes to programming there will always be others that know more than you and if you are too afraid to ask for help you will only be robbing yourself of knowledge that is willing to be shared.
Let me be clear. I am only looking for positive feedback!
Leaving feedback and receiving feedback are two completely different concepts to me, they both invoke diffent feelings and emotions. When I am receiving feedback I try not to take anything personally and learn from what others think of my work style and technical knowledge. I truly enjoy reading feedback on myself because it is a way to learn and grow. From being a coach for many years I have learned that critiques and constructive criticism are a key to learning and becoming better at your trade/art/sport/etc.. I find that most people that cannot take constructive criticism have a fixed mindset and think that they know everything and can't accept that others might know more and are just trying to help you gain knowledge that they have. People with a growth mindset however are open to feedback and criticism because they know that there are others who know more than them or have more experience.
Feedback Received!
Some of the feedback that I have received was helpful to me and some of the other feedback was reassuring to help know that others were satisfied with my technical and cultural knowledge. Based on some of my feedback I am going to try and implement the newest ideas that we have learned and not be afraid to challenge myself to use the harder techniques to solve challenges instead of some of the easier tried and true techniques. I have enjoyed reading my feedback and hope to continue to get good feedback from my pairing partners.
Come on man give it up!
Giving feedback is a totally different story. Giving feedback can be a very tricky idea, if done right, even harsh feedback can be constructive and helpful to someone, if done wrong, can hurt someones feelings and never help them out. It is important when leaving feedback to not make a shit-sandwich but to make sure and include what they have done well as well as what they can improve on. Wording is key, "A-S-K" is a very important concept that DBC has taught us. The way I interpret is, is truly very literally, make sure that you give them something "actionable" and ideas of how to improve on it. Be "specific" about what they could improve on, don't just tell them the whole thing was bad, highlight some areas they excelled on and then specifically tell them where they can improve. Be "kind" is one of the keys to everything, being kind doesn't mean sugar-coating your every word, but focusing your feedback on the challenge/task and not on the person or external things other than the task. Something I have found difficult about leaving feedback is that I have not found many aspects of negative feedback to leave other students so far. This is a good thing because it means that my fellow cohort mates are doing a great job both technically and culturally, but sometimes I feel like I cannot leave constructive criticism because there is none to leave. Overall I like to leave others feedback and help them out but am glad that my fellow students are doing such a great job that I have yet to have to leave any bad feedback.