From twin training to pair programming

This is an experience report on Twin Training which arose out of a unique situation that occurred in a small research department in Thessaloniki, Greece when all the programmers left the firm. The new programmers in the department were a recent graduate and an intern unfamiliar with the required technologies to complete the unfinished European Union funded projects. This paper outlines how, without a mentor, they devised a mutually supportive training technique which enabled them to acquire both knowledge and practical skills quickly. Twin Training helped them break personal barriers and provided a supportive grounding to progress to pair programming on the projects.