A Mixed Reality Approach for Innovative Pair Programming Education with a Conversational AI Virtual Avatar

Pair Programming (PP) is an Agile software development methodology that involves two developers working together on a single computer. However, the physical presence of two developers has become a challenge in recent years due to the pandemic, necessitating remote collaboration methods such as Distributed Pair Programming (DPP). DPP has been found to have similar benefits to in-person PP, but the issue of team compatibility remains unresolved. These are more evident in the educational field of Agile methodologies. To address these challenges, we developed a novel approach by creating a Mixed Reality (MR) application that enables users to learn PP with the assistance of a conversational intelligent virtual avatar. The application uses the HoloLens MR device and a Conversational Agent (CA) extension integrated into Visual Studio Code to provide suggestions for improving the code written by the user. The virtual avatar animates these suggestions, making it appear to speak and interact with the user in real time. This system aims to overcome the limitations of common DPP methods, allowing a single developer to learn and apply the PP methodology even when a human partner is unavailable.