Collaboration, Program Function, and Development Process

Why collaboration matters

Computing innovations are usually built by teams. Collaboration that includes diverse perspectives helps avoid bias and produces programs that work for more users.

Common practices:

• Pair programming: a driver types while a navigator reviews and plans; they switch roles.
• Communicating, sharing feedback and resolving disagreements respectfully.
• Online tools for shared code and version control.

Purpose and function

• The purpose of a program is the problem it solves or the creative goal it serves.
• Its function is what it actually does when it runs: its behavior.
• Inputs are data sent to the program (from a user, a sensor, a file or another program).
• Outputs are data sent from the program (text, sound, images, movement).
• Events such as a click or a key press can trigger parts of a program (event-driven programming).

The development process

Development is often iterative (repeating cycles of refinement) and sometimes incremental (adding and testing small pieces one at a time).

Typical phases:

1. Investigating and reflecting: understand the problem, gather requirements, interview users.
2. Designing: plan the user interface, break the problem into parts.
3. Prototyping and testing.

Program documentation (comments and descriptions) explains how code works and must also acknowledge code written by others.

Quick summary

• Diverse collaboration reduces bias and improves programs.
• Purpose = why; function = what it does; inputs and outputs connect it to the world.
• Develop iteratively and incrementally, and document as you go.