Empirical Validation of Test-Driven Pair Programming in Game Development

Authors:
Shaochun Xu;Vaclav Rajlich
Affiliations:
Algoma University College, Laurentian University,;Wayne State University
Venue:
ICIS-COMSAR '06 Proceedings of the 5th IEEE/ACIS International Conference on Computer and Information Science and 1st IEEE/ACIS International Workshop on Component-Based Software Engineering,Software Architecture and Reuse
Year:
2006

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Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of some extreme programming practices in game development by conducting a case study with 12 students who were assigned to implement a simple game application either as pairs or as individuals. The pairs used some XP practices, such as pair programming, test-driven and refactoring, while the individuals applied the traditional waterfall-like approach. The results of the case study showed that paired students completed their tasks faster and with higher quality than individuals. The programs written by pairs pass more test cases than those developed by individuals. Paired programmers also wrote cleaner code with higher cohesion by creating more reasonable number of methods. Therefore, some XP practices, such as pair programming, test-driven and refactoring could be used in game development.