Pair and Parallel Programming - Coursework Example

Pair and Parallel Programming Introduction Many organizations are adopting the policy of having various programming methodologies in their operations. One of the new models is pair programming that is a concept of extreme programming approach. The concepts campaigns for forming of pairs to run programs for a group. However, even the managements of different firms are today introducing pair management into their operations. This paper is going to highlight the procedure of pair and parallel programming. Dq 7.1 Programming has been typically an individual effort, or individuals working on different parts of a program. New approaches now have programmers working in parallel on software development. (1)What are the advantages? There are various benefits of having system developers working together in parallel. When we talk of parallel working in software development, the idea is that the developers work from the same computers or servers. The first advantage of parallel working is that developers are given an opportunity to benefit from the studies their peers had conducted. When system developers work on the same computer, they can share their experiences concerning some research they conducted on earlier dates[Com14]. Therefore, a software developer is enabled to benefit from the work of his or her colleague. Parallel software development also helps in ensuring quality in the work done by the system developers. The operation, in this case, gives the workers or developers room to take advantage of the research done by fellow developers. It is obvious that one would make reference to studies that were successful. Therefore, the possibility is that the developers are going to pick values that were useful in ensuring success in software development. Combining the values noted and the qualities of these software developers, the outcome is expected to be of extremely higher value than before. When programmers work in parallel, it also becomes easier to supervise their works and manage their operations. In such a case, the project manager has to check the output of the team of programmers instead of supervising individuals. The manager’s work is made simple by this new approach. He or she would also spend a little time in the supervision practices of the software development. (2) Disadvantages of this approach? Despite the highly rated advantages that the new approach of parallel working in software development, there a number of disadvantages attached to the approach. The first challenge of this model is that it can only be used under specific conditions[Tol11]. For example, the approach is only useful in a case where the functions of programs are similar to multiple applications. The programmers must be working towards solving same problems if the approach of parallel software development is to be adapted. Otherwise, clashing functions can make the entire software that is being developed to become useless[Bra112]. Another disadvantage of this approach is its less strict supervision that can allow incompetence among programmers in many ways. The parallel working makes supervision a quick job that entails analyzing the outcome of what the entire team of developers had introduced into operation. Due to this generalized supervision, low quality work done by some incompetent programmers can hardly be identified. Therefore, the organization or team is liable to the low standard work released by this type of programmers. Accountability of the software developers is not possible with the approach of parallel working. In most cases, the programmers work in pairs as they release a single product. Since the system that they produce is out of a combination of the efforts of all the workers that took part in the process, it is hard to identify each individual’s contribution. Sometimes it is necessary to note the part that each developer plays in the programming so that corrections can be addressed to the right people, not the team in general[Con114]. Dq 7.2 Search the ACM library for a journal article related to (1) team or (2) collaborative programming. The article should relate to something important to you. Summarize the importance of this article. A journal article that I found important in the library is an article from CDC’s Healthy Communities Program Journal. The article is titled “Cultivating Healthy Communities: The CDC Perspective.” It is an article that looks at the issue of chronic disease in the population of the United States of America. It highlights how the chronic diseases have been spreading over a large area in the U.S for the last few months. I have a lot of concern about the health conditions of citizens in the nation because it determines a lot of development in the society. A country needs a healthy population for its economy to grow. Therefore, it is very important that the medical status of every member of the society be good[Dia12]. The journal article is important to the readers and the entire population at large. First, it is simplified for the readers and implementing teams to understand the program. The article highlights the four key requirements that are needed for awareness to be created in the community affected. The steps of this program start with investing into the community to note the chronic diseases that are common. The next step is impacting knowledge to the community concerning the diseases and the strategies that are to be in controlling them. After the community is made aware of the chronic diseases and strategies to be implemented, the next thing to do is to mobilize changes in the community. Finally, the society is provided with the necessary tools and funds needed to keep the program running. The steps are clearly stated thus it becomes easy to understand the program. The article is also important because it informs us of the requirement of each step of implementation. It gives the details of all the activities that are supposed to be done at each level. By doing this, it becomes easier for the program to be implemented by any interested party. For example, a concerned citizen can get to volunteer in participating in this program after reading about it in this article. Dq 7.3 (1) Apply the extreme programming concept of pair programming to management. Extreme programming is an approach is a system development model that seeks to adapt flexibility in the operations of an organization or a team. Pair programming is among the key concepts under the XP methodology. The ideology here is to bring programmers at one platform where they get to work together. The concept of pair programming can be applied in any management team in different ways[Kas11]. According to the concept of pair programming, the two programmers are supposed to be working on the same station. Therefore, when a management has decided to apply the approach, it must ensure the two directors who are meant to pair operate from the same office[Din122]. If the management seeks to implement this policy to the junior departments, the people involved are given one work station. The two directors who are coordinated through this concept of pair programming are also supposed to make an analysis as one head. Whenever there are results to be released after an analysis of any matter in hand, the two directors in charge of management are supposed to have the same stand. The managers should act like a single body the same way as paired programmers[Gar14]. A management that is controlled by this concept should also ensure that the designs for the organization are developed with collaboration among the directors. The pair that is in control of the organization is obliged to conduct all the necessary research about a policy together and design the ideas as a team. When this is done, we can consider the management of the organization to be operating fully in a pair programming model. (2)What might be the effect of asking managers to work in pairs? When managers of an organization decide to work in pairs, the business stands to be affected in different ways. The effects due to the pairing of managers can either positive or negative. Therefore, it is important that any organization that is seeking to implement this concept to weigh the two ends. One of the advantages of having policy in the management is the fact that it gives room for the managers to brainstorm together and come up with fine solutions to the managerial constraints they are facing. Having managers work in pairs is a good way of advocating collaboration in the organization. When the head of departments and junior staff get to see that the head managers can work in pairs productively, they are challenged to adapt the policy. Therefore, in the long run all workers in the company will be working as a team. Another effect of asking managers to work in pairs is having a channel through which new managers can adapt to the system swiftly. Apart from this, the less experienced managers also get to acquire some skills from the experienced ones when they work together in pairs. One of the major challenges of this concept is that it makes mentoring hard in cases where the teacher-student relationship is completely eradicated. There are scenarios where the people who were meant to learn fail to grasp something because they think they are at the same level with their mentors since they are paired. In such situations, this concept stops being useful to the organization[Iva11]. (3) Could pair management have particular effectiveness for distributed teams as compared to collocated teams? Paired management policy is useful to organizations since it improves the quality of management. There are some effects that this type of management impacts more on the distributed teams than on the co-located team[Men11]. One of these effects is the introduction of purely electronic data and copies for distributed teams that are controlled by the paired management. Due to the geographical distance between the directors, most of the information that these managers share are issued through electronic systems. The advantage of the electronic copies is that they are hardly misplaced and can be shared easily[Lic14]. For distributed teams, the paired managers rarely get into discussing irrelevant topics since they only get the system when they have something crucial to handle[Mar14]. For the co-located teams, the managers are always next to each other even when they do not have some issue to handle. They can easily get into discussing non-work related matters, for this reason. Distributed managers are also easily coordinated by the concept of pair programming. Despite the distances, these managers can be coordinated through virtual means to form paired management bodies. The idea serves as a best way of coordinating regional managers. One main benefit of this step is the fact that it would not induce battles between the managers because of superiority complex[Pan12]. Every manager will still remain the head of operations in his or her area of management. The pairs formed would be just for coordinating the managerial duties of the organization that are being done in different regions[Liu13]. Conclusion The idea of parallel programming has proven to be useful when we compare its positive effects to the negative ones. A lot of benefits are attached to the implementation of this approach by a programming team. The idea of paired management has also been highlighted as having both positive and negative effects. When properly implemented, the approach is very productive to the organization that decides to adopt it. Making managers of distributed teams work in pairs is a strategy that is useful for ensuring collaboration among team members in different places. Therefore, these new technologies in software development and management are productive to organizations. References Com14: , (Coman, 2014), Tol11: , (Tolfo, 2011), Bra112: , (Braught & Wahls, 2011), Con114: , (Conboy, 2011), Dia12: , (Diaz, 2012), Kas11: , (Kasim, 2011), Din122: , (Dingsøyr, 2012), Gar14: , (Garcia, 2014), Iva11: , (Ivari, 2011), Men11: , (Mendes, 2011), Lic14: , (Licea, 2014), Mar14: , (Martínez, 2014), Pan12: , (Pandey, 2012), Liu13: , (Liu, 2013), Read More