What is the primary advantage of pair programming in Agile teams?

The primary advantage of pair programming in Agile teams is that it promotes knowledge sharing among team members. This collaborative practice involves two programmers working together at one workstation; one writes code while the other reviews each line as it’s written. This dynamic not only fosters immediate feedback but also enhances the learning experience, as both individuals share their skills, techniques, and insights.

By working closely together, team members have the opportunity to learn from each other's strengths and experiences, which can lead to a more versatile and skilled team overall. This shared understanding can be particularly beneficial in terms of onboarding new team members, as the knowledge and techniques become more widely circulated within the team. Pair programming creates an environment where knowledge is not confined to individual programmers, which is essential for building a resilient and adaptable Agile team.

While faster coding and quality assurance are benefits that can arise from pair programming, they are secondary to the core advantage of knowledge sharing. Additionally, the presumption that pair programming eliminates the need for code reviews is not accurate, as code reviews still play a critical role in maintaining code quality within Agile processes.