Remote pair programming

• Pair Programming by Thomas Sundberg

Pair programming is best done with the pair at the same location. This is sometimes not possible. How can pair programming be done remote?

One simple setup is a voice channel using Skype, screen sharing using TeamViewer and file sharing using Github.

So by talking to your partner over Skype and at the same time share the desktop on one of your computers you will be able to pair program remote. File sharing may be nice but is actually not necessary. One problem I have experienced is when you have a need for scribbling a model on a piece of paper. That is hard when your partner is somewhere else. You can use tools like Google draw and scribble, but it is really difficult and a lot harder compared to a quick drawing on the back of an envelope.

Has this setup been tested? Yes it has. I have done remote pair programming from Finland and Sweden with a friend, Alexandru Bolboaca, in Romania. It worked very well. Our only problem was that we did it late at Friday evenings, our families had some opinions after a few hours and we were tired after a week of work.