PHP UK Conference 2025: PHP Innovations and Team Collaboration

The PHP UK Conference is one of Europe's biggest events for PHP. It's a great place for developers and CTOs to learn, connect, and share ideas. The next event is scheduled for February 19, 2025. This will include talks, workshops, and social events. Top speakers will discuss PHP version updates, best practices, and new technologies.

Armakuni helped One Team in their journey to pair programming. At the PHP UK Conference held earlier in 2024, Mark Bradley, Senior Consulting Engineer at Armakuni, gave an interesting talk on this. Here’s what he discussed. 

Mark Bradley's insights on pair programming

One Team started with separate backend and frontend developers. This can often cause misunderstandings and delays. After learning about extreme programming and pair programming, they decided to try cross-functional pairing. It was tough at first.

Transition and adaptation

They began by having senior backend developers pair up, then included juniors. This helped build skills and confidence. They stopped using pull requests for paired work, which got more people involved. 

As backend developers paired with frontend developers, they learned test-driven development (TDD) and frontend tech. Over nine months, Armakuni helped them fully adopt pair programming with the motto "Sharing, Pairing, Caring."

Challenges and benefits

There were challenges, like some team members resisting pair programming and concerns about code ownership. But the benefits were clear: better cross-product knowledge, improved code quality, faster feedback, and continuous learning. 

During the pandemic, they adapted to remote work, trying new tools and methods for pair programming. The journey was tough but led to a more skilled and collaborative team.

At Armakuni, we help your team deliver better products faster. We combine coaching with data-driven strategies to create real change. Through pair programming and top engineering practices, Armakuni tech experts improve your team's skills and output. 

We focus on achieving clear business results, like shorter release cycles and higher-quality code. We skip the usual consulting fluff, helping you deliver reliable products and boost growth.

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