Pair programming is not dead!

With the rise of AI tools and code assistants, or a more remote and distributed workforce, it’s easy to think that pair programming is becoming a redundant process. It has always been a somewhat controversial practice. To managers, on the surface it looks like 2 people doing 1 person's job. To developers, the thought of typing with another developer watching your every keystroke sounds uncomfortable at best. I am here to convince you that it still worthwhile, how to make it work, and the results it will bring you.

Pair programming has long been an agile process and a core part of the extreme programming methodology. As a practicer of extreme programming myself, I can advocate for benefits it has provided me, my team and our project. From increased speed to delivery, higher quality products and reducing knowledge silos; that’s just to name a few. At LMAX Group, we have made pair programming a core part of our development culture for over 15 years now and we don't plan on getting rid of it any time soon. However, the way we work, and the technology we use, is not static and pair programming is far from being a new hot topic. So where does it fit in a modern software development team.

Finally, AI code assistants are becoming better and a lot bigger part of the software developer's toolbox. Does this make pair programming less effective? Does it make it more effective? Most of all, is a human developer using an AI code assistant pair programming? Do we still see the benefits?