In general, remote pairing is no different from collocated pairing except for the obvious video link. These days, there is no need to use anything other than a high-quality video, sound and screen-sharing, and a remote screen control tool such as Zoom.

Pro tips:

• When sharing have two screens, one for sharing and one for personal use for slack, mail etc. Make sure you remember which is which ;)

• Be careful with notifications when you are actively pairing with someone. It is often worth muting notifications.

• Maintain an active dialogue about the code you are working on, particularly when you are not driving.

• Try to minimise the amount of environmental noise around you. Where possible, work in a quiet room.

• Don’t forget there are whiteboard facilities on Zoom. This can be useful in explaining ideas.

• When using remote screen control, latency is important!

Remember, you have to actively fight against the people isolating themselves, especially when people first start to work remotely. Make yourself present; be overactive in communications like Slack and Zoom. If you are overactive, people are more likely to pair with you!