Knowledge Creation In Information Systems Development Teams: The Role Of Pair Programming And Peer Code Review
Kai Spohrer, Thomas Kude, Christoph Schmidt, Armin Heinzl · MADOC (University of Mannheim) · 2013
Software developers increasingly rely on the four-eyes principle to ensure high quality early on in the development process.Implementing this principle, peer code review has recently been proposed as a less costly alternative to the more commonly used pair programming technique.This study examines the implications of these techniques on knowledge creation within information systems development teams.Thereby, it contrasts with prior research on pair programming and peer code review which has primarily focused on comparing direct quality gains to increased costs.Based on a multiple-case study and guided by Nonaka's theory on organizational knowledge creation, this study improves our understanding of the varying effects of pair programming and peer code review, both on an individual and on a team level.Findings show that the techniques may be substitutes on a dyadic level, but may complement each other regarding their effects on team-level knowledge creation: if applied simultaneously, they may collectively enable socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization of knowledge.This study contributes not only to literature on development techniques by explaining the complementary nature of pair programming and peer code review, but also extends current literature by analyzing how development teams come to benefit from knowledge of their single members in daily work with these techniques.