Paul Sobocinski
Software Engineer in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
People over process.
Creativity beats efficiency.
Habits before goals.
Me in a nutshell
I support professionals in their pursuit of technical excellence in Software Engineering practices. I believe in fostering professional growth through skills-based learning; I also believe that Technical Coaching plays a crucial role in unlocking our full potential as Software Engineering professionals.
Selected writings
Here are some of my recent articles organized by topic. You can find more of my writings on my personal blog or via my author page on the Connected blog.
Pair Programming
Maximizing Pair Programming Flow: Using the four conditions of Flow to improve pairing effectiveness
Flow in Software Engineering: Should we avoid it or embrace it?
The Enigmatic Navigator: What are they actually supposed to do during a pairing session?
Pairing with a Subject Matter Expert: How doing so can address the root causes of technical debt
Strong-Style Pairing: Overview, benefits, and usage contexts
Pairing Themes: Demystifying pair programming for novices
Ping-Pong Pairing: The foundational pairing style
Pair Programming Misunderstood: How I thought it wasn't for me, until it was.
Product Teams
Silo-ball, Async Fixation, and Deep Work Obsession: An emerging set of anti-patterns in the age of remote work
The "Hero" Anti-pattern: And how to prevent it on product teams
Product Team Anti-patterns: And how pair programming may help
The Importance of Creativity on Product Teams: How creativity can apply to team retrospectives
Test-Driven Development and Specification by Example: Change-resilient alternatives to phased planning approaches
Planning in Phases: Intuitive, yet wrong for software development
Coaching and Teaching
Learning Archetypes: A learning and facilitation aid for skills-oriented workshops such as coderetreat
Collaboration in the Problem Space: Using the CEDAR model for effective one-on-one feedback
Lessons from an Education Revolutionary: How both software and education can thrive in the face of change
Learning Frameworks for Skills Acquisition: Avoid habits that lead to progression plateaus
Habit-based Goals: A goal-setting approach for Software Engineers