One of the more intriguing ideas that comes from Extreme Programming is that two people working together on a task costs less than one person doing that task alone.

This practice is that one person types the code, while the other dictates what is typed; or one person writes the tests while the other defines the outcome or however the current work can be split. Basically two sets of eyes and hands (and more importantly two brains) on every task.

The benefits are written about in many places, and although few are scientific, the preponderance of data says that for a mere 15% increase in the time required for a programming task, the project will benefit by a 15% to 50% reduction in the number of bugs. In almost any project, that is an excellent tradeoff.

Additionally, in the linked paper (a 206 page PDF for those really interested in the statistics) the author data asserts that 95% of the test subjects enjoyed their work more than when working alone.

Worth a look and worth a trial.

Paper on Pair Programming - PDF

Wiki on Pair Programming
 

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