Title: Hybrid pair programming in distributed software development

Authors: Ridi Ferdiana; Irdina Wanda Syahputri

Addresses: Faculty of Engineering, Department Electrical Engineering and Information Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2, Kampus UGM, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia ' Faculty of Engineering, Department Electrical Engineering and Information Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jl. Grafika No. 2, Kampus UGM, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia

Abstract: Pair programming exhibits direct communication in the same place, time, and context. However, applying this programming in distributed software development is difficult because of the limited interaction, space, and time between developers. Distributed software development is a way to develop software remotely with separate team members. This paper aims to understand the key difficulty of pair programming in Distributed Software Development. In this study, researchers constructed an experiment to understand the difficulty of pair programming in distributed software development. The experiment compared individual programming, pair programming, and combining the two. The experiment result was then used to propose a hybrid pair programming method. This study showed that hybrid pair programming supplied better productivity than personal programming (55% better) and pair programming (43% better). Hybrid pair programming can improve coordination, scheduling, and technical issues, increasing individual programming productivity.

Keywords: pair programming; distributed software development; individual programming; managerial effectiveness; organisational agility.

DOI: 10.1504/IJASM.2026.150554

International Journal of Agile Systems and Management, 2026 Vol.19 No.1, pp.1 - 21

Accepted: 26 May 2024
Published online: 17 Dec 2025 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article