The Mob Mentality Show

Creating Coding Careers via Mob Programming with Mike Roberts

What things make a career in tech unattainable for some?What would make a career in tech accessible to more people?Once someone has started their code journey, what things help a career flourish?
Join Austin and Chris as they discuss with Mike Roberts making tech careers accessible and equitable at Creating Coding Careers. Mike not only shares about the mission and results of https://cccareers.org/ but he also shares many aspects of his "playbook" for enhancing and enriching the early career of developers: e.g., Mob Programming, Apprenticeship, Mentors, Job Placement, etc. 
Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/RPOXewO7ZeQ  

Mob Programming from a College Student’s Perspective with Jack Wei, Joel Plotnik, and Alec Arce

You may have heard about Mob Programming from a professional developer's perspective. But have you heard about it first hand from a college student's perspective?
Join Chris and Austin as they ask college students Jack Wei, Joel Plotnik, and Alec Arce about their ensemble experiences with other students and with professional engineers. Jack, Joel, and Alec share about what they liked and what they did not like in their weekly mobbing sessions. Lastly, as they reach the end of their college journey, they offer advice to college students who are just starting out. 
Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/tg84bP-s3Mg 

Mob Emails and Communication

How did you learn to communicate well?How do you teach emotional intelligence and tact to other team members?What are ways teams can interact with others where it feels like it's coming from a team and not just an individual?
Come join Chris and Austin as they share how they write emails and learn/teach communication skills in an ensemble. Flow efficiency patterns and anti-patterns are covered. Email "refactoring" stories are shared. Come hear how collective ownership not only applies to code but also to communication, slides, and yes... GIFs!
Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/ayhbFAJm6Zs 

Refactor, THEN... Red Green Refactor

"To refactor, or not to refactor," that is the question when starting new work and before writing the first test.
Join Chris and Austin as they discuss the applicability of "Refactor, THEN... Red Green Refactor." Inspired by the Kent Beck quote "For each desired change, make the change easy (warning: this may be hard), then make the easy change," they walk though some examples of when they found it valuable to do so in TDD ensembles. On the other hand, they also discuss cases when the mob they were in decided to jump straight into "Red Green Refactor" without the refactor first. Lastly, they share their stances on refactoring when creating prototypes.
Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/ANuh_z9rUno 

Ludicrous Speed Learning with Willem Larsen

Is there something that could put learning into hyperdrive in your context? For example, what environment, principles, and practices could enable onboarding to occur with speed and quality?
Join Chris, Austin, and Willem Larsen as they not only share stories of "Ludicrous Speed Learning" but also discuss #EnsembleFirst as an alternative mindset and way to experiment with flow efficiency. In addition, they talk through organizational change in relation to ensemble programming, skills, and vocabulary (e.g., when to use the word "mob" vs. the word "ensemble").
Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/Hx9GFeXHCug   

Rethinking Management and Nurturing Change with Esther Derby

What is management? Is it simply getting people to work hard? Is it supervision? Is it extracting maximum labor and value? Or something else?
Join Chris, Austin, and Esther Derby as they not only discuss ways to rethink management but also discuss ways to nurture positive change in management, organizations, and teams. 
Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/rr6vlDgMUws 

Mobbing in the Early 2000s with Moses Hohman and Andy Slocum

Mob Programming turns 21? Or, is Mob Programming still pre-teen? Or, more loosely has the generic form of mobbing been around for ages under different names?
Join Chris and Austin as they discuss with Moses Hohman and Andy Slocum their 2001 Mob Odyssey. Moses and Andy not only share about Mob Programming at Thoughtworks back in the early 2000s but also recent mobbing at Flare Health and Thoughtworks. Lastly, they discuss the side effects of mobbing, mob programming for learning vs. for work, and the differences between mobbing and pairing.
Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/df_FsO7ibes   

High Octane vs. Zen Mob Programming

What are the different styles of mob programming you have seen or experienced?Ever been in a mob that was "Fast and Furious"? An ensemble that favors autonomy first and is hyper focused on solving the problem in a more "multi-threaded" fashion with rapid cycles and lots of concurrent experimentation?On the other end of the spectrum, ever been in an ensemble that was more synchronized and peaceful?  A mob that is more "single-threaded" and is optimized for consensus style decision making and learning?
Join Chris and Austin as they share about their High Octane vs. Zen Mob Programming experiences. They first share about different ends of the mob style spectrum and then offer some possible suggestions for when to use each style type. Lastly, some tips are offered on how to join a mob and thrive when they are operating in a style different than you are used to.
Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/nvKyYp-LsCk 

Mobbing with Finance

How do you collaborate with people from disciplines like finance and legal?What collaboration patterns with inter-dependencies lead to higher availability in the system, higher responsiveness, and faster flow?What collaboration patterns lead to more waiting, more queues, more context switching, and large batches?
In response to a listener's request, join Chris and Austin as they reflect on multiple mobbing experiences with people from finance and similar disciplines.
Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/uTLslRUrQXQ  

Advanced Napkin Math, OM Science, Scrum, and Mobbing with Steve Hallman

What methods from operations management science and manufacturing should be applied to software development? From Taylor? From Gantt? From Deming?Does operations management science thinking lead to mobbing? Does Scrum imply ensemble programming?
Join Chris and Austin as they discuss "Advanced Napkin Math, OM Science, Scrum, and Mobbing" with Steve Hallman. First they discuss the history of ideas in operations management science, scrum, and their relation to mob programming. Lastly, Steve shares about his advanced napkin math tools he uses for teams and planning in software development.
Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/3BBGoxgMeiI