Globally distributed software development and pair programming

The various features and benefits of pair programming in the globally distributed software development, are discussed. As economic pressure are forcing firms to employ more globally distributed software teams, they should exploit the benefits of pair programming that emerge from when two people work side-by-side in close proximity. The properties of pair programming to produce more optimal solutions in comparison of individual programmers, efficient communication, ongoing sharing of goals and plans, reuse of system knowledge, and the ability to dynamically incorporate new divisions of labor and collaborative interaction system offer excellent solutions for software development. The firms should maintain cross-workspace information infrastructure such as visual, manual, and audio channels for remote pair programming. The problem of encoding the proper cross-workspace information and assurance of availability in remote pairs, and ease of access of information need to be resolved.