Features

PairStair provides comprehensive tools for analyzing and optimizing developer pairing in your team.

Current Features

📊 Pair Matrix Analysis

Visual representation of team collaboration patterns

  • Shows how often each pair of developers has worked together
  • Identifies collaboration gaps and strong partnerships
  • Configurable time windows (days, weeks, months, years)
  • Clear matrix format for quick understanding
pairstair -window 2w

👥 Team Management

Flexible team organization and analysis

  • Team Files: Define your team members with .team files
  • Sub-Teams: Organize large teams into focused groups
  • Email Normalization: Handle multiple email addresses per developer
  • Selective Analysis: Focus on specific sub-teams with --team flag

Example .team file:

[frontend]
Alice Smith <alice@company.com>
Bob Johnson <bob@company.com>

[backend]
Carol Williams <carol@company.com>
Dave Brown <dave@company.com>

🎯 Smart Recommendations

Multiple strategies for optimal pair suggestions

  • Least Recent: Pairs who haven’t worked together recently
  • Least Paired: Pairs who have worked together the fewest times using optimal matching
  • Customizable: Choose the strategy that fits your team’s needs
pairstair -strategy least-recent
pairstair -strategy least-paired

📈 Rich HTML Output

Detailed web interface for comprehensive analysis

  • Interactive pair matrix with drill-down capabilities
  • Visual charts and graphs showing trends
  • Detailed statistics and metrics
  • Sortable and filterable data tables
  • Professional reports for stakeholders
pairstair -output html > report.html

⏰ Flexible Time Windows

Analyze any time period that matters to your team

  • Days: 1d, 7d, 30d
  • Weeks: 1w, 2w, 4w, 8w
  • Months: 1m, 3m, 6m, 12m
  • Years: 1y, 2y

Perfect for different analysis needs:

  • Daily standups: -window 1d
  • Sprint reviews: -window 2w
  • Quarterly assessments: -window 3m

🔧 Git Integration

Seamless integration with your existing workflow

  • Works with any git repository
  • Analyzes co-authored-by trailers in commit messages
  • No additional setup or configuration required
  • Supports all git hosting platforms (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, etc.)

🚀 Performance Optimized

Fast analysis even for large repositories

  • Efficient git log parsing
  • Minimal memory footprint
  • Quick startup time
  • Scales well with repository size and team size

Planned Features

These features are planned for future releases. See our roadmap for more details.

🔄 Advanced Pair Rotation

Intelligent rotation management

  • Round Robin Strategy: Ensure all possible pairs get equal opportunities over time
  • Detect current working pairs from recent commits
  • Suggest optimal rotations while maintaining project continuity
  • Balance skill sharing with project deadlines
  • Integration with sprint planning tools

📅 Calendar Integration

Factor in availability when making recommendations

  • Connect with Google Calendar, Outlook, or other calendar systems
  • Consider time zones for distributed teams
  • Respect PTO and availability preferences
  • Schedule pairing sessions automatically

📊 Analytics Dashboard

Comprehensive pairing insights over time

  • Web-based dashboard showing long-term trends
  • Team health metrics and KPIs
  • Skill distribution analysis
  • Pairing effectiveness measurements

🎯 Skill-Based Pairing

Match developers based on expertise and learning goals

  • Define skill matrices for team members
  • Recommend pairs for knowledge transfer
  • Balance mentor/mentee relationships
  • Track skill development over time

🔗 Tool Integrations

Connect with your existing development tools

  • Project Management: Jira, Asana, Trello integration
  • Communication: Slack, Microsoft Teams notifications
  • Code Review: GitHub, GitLab merge request analysis
  • CI/CD: Jenkins, GitHub Actions workflow integration

📈 Advanced Analytics

Deeper insights into team dynamics

  • Trend Analysis: How pairing patterns change over time
  • Correlation Analysis: Link pairing to code quality metrics
  • Productivity Metrics: Measure pairing effectiveness
  • Team Health Scores: Overall collaboration indicators

🌐 Multi-Repository Support

Analyze pairing across multiple projects

  • Aggregate data from multiple repositories
  • Cross-project collaboration tracking
  • Organization-wide pairing insights
  • Microservices team coordination

📋 Custom Reporting

Tailored reports for different stakeholders

  • Manager Reports: High-level team health summaries
  • Developer Reports: Personal pairing progress
  • HR Reports: Team integration and culture metrics
  • Custom Templates: Configurable report formats

🔧 Advanced Configuration

Fine-tune PairStair for your organization

  • Custom Pairing Rules: Define organization-specific policies
  • Ignore Patterns: Exclude certain types of commits
  • Weighting Systems: Prioritize different types of collaboration
  • Notification Preferences: Customizable alert thresholds

📱 Mobile and Desktop Apps

Access pairing insights anywhere

  • Native mobile apps for iOS and Android
  • Desktop applications for Windows, macOS, Linux
  • Offline analysis capabilities
  • Synchronized data across devices

Feature Comparison

Feature Current Planned
Basic pair analysis ✅ ✅
Team file support ✅ ✅
Sub-team filtering ✅ ✅
HTML output ✅ ✅
Multiple strategies ✅ ✅
Calendar integration ❌ ✅
Skill-based pairing ❌ ✅
Multi-repo support ❌ ✅
Analytics dashboard ❌ ✅
Mobile apps ❌ ✅
API access ❌ ✅
Real-time notifications ❌ ✅

Contributing Ideas

Have an idea for a new feature? We’d love to hear from you! Here are ways to contribute:

  1. Open an Issue: Describe your feature idea on GitHub Issues
  2. Join Discussions: Participate in GitHub Discussions
  3. Submit a PR: Implement a feature and submit a pull request
  4. Share Use Cases: Tell us how you’re using PairStair and what would help

Feature Request Template

When requesting a feature, please include:

  • Problem: What challenge are you trying to solve?
  • Solution: How do you envision the feature working?
  • Alternatives: What workarounds are you currently using?
  • Context: What’s your team size, structure, and workflow?

Priority Guidelines

Features are prioritized based on:

  1. Impact: How many users would benefit?
  2. Effort: How complex is the implementation?
  3. Alignment: Does it fit PairStair’s core mission?
  4. Community: How much interest from the community?

Version History

v1.2.0 (Current)

  • ✅ Sub-team support with --team flag
  • ✅ Enhanced .team file format with sections
  • ✅ Improved HTML output styling
  • ✅ Better error handling and validation

v1.1.0

  • ✅ HTML output format
  • ✅ Multiple recommendation strategies
  • ✅ Flexible time window parsing
  • ✅ Performance improvements

v1.0.0

  • ✅ Basic pair matrix analysis
  • ✅ Team file support
  • ✅ Console output
  • ✅ Git integration
  • ✅ Cross-platform support

API Reference

Future feature: Programmatic access to PairStair functionality

REST API Endpoints

GET /api/v1/analysis?window=2w&team=frontend
POST /api/v1/recommendations
GET /api/v1/teams
PUT /api/v1/teams/{id}

SDK Libraries

Planned SDKs for popular languages:

  • JavaScript/TypeScript: npm install @pairstair/sdk
  • Python: pip install pairstair-sdk
  • Go: go get github.com/gypsydave5/pairstair/sdk
  • Java: Maven/Gradle integration

Webhook Integration

# Configure webhooks for real-time updates
pairstair webhook add https://your-app.com/pairing-update

Enterprise Features

Contact us for enterprise licensing and support

Advanced Security

  • SSO integration (SAML, OAuth)
  • Role-based access control
  • Audit logging
  • Data encryption at rest

Scalability

  • Multi-tenant architecture
  • High availability deployment
  • Performance monitoring
  • Custom SLA agreements

Support

  • 24/7 technical support
  • Dedicated customer success manager
  • Custom training and onboarding
  • Priority feature requests

Want to see a feature implemented? Let us know!