The Mob Mentality Show

Agile + Craftsmanship Tag Team Coaching with Nicolas Umiastowski and Cedric Martin

Ever been on a team that had great agile habits from a non-technical perspective but lacked craftsmanship? What was it like?How about the other side of the coin? Ever been on a team that had technical excellence but lacked agility in regards to process, product, etc.?
Now imagine a world where these powers are combined. Join Chris and Austin as they discuss with Nicolas Umiastowski and Cedric Martin how they crossed the chasm between agile and craftsmanship with tag team coaching and mob programming.
Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/P_SwQAfG2-4 

Introverts vs. Extroverts in Mob Programming? with Matthew Killoran and Aaron Griffith

Is mob programming disastrous for introverts? Does it inevitably lead to exhaustion? Does it pit introverts and extroverts against each other? Does ensemble programming naturally lead to loud extroverts dominating the flow?
Come join two introverts (Matthew Killoran and Aaron Griffith) and two extroverts (Chris and Austin) as they discuss introverts and extroverts in Mob Programming. All four have been doing mob programming full time for many years and in this episode they hit topics like the "Both Stretch" model and the "Silent Sr" model. Lastly, they discuss the "28 seconds of silence" experiment and run it live on the show! Yes, the "28 seconds of silence" experiment was hard for the extroverts, but it was good for them :)
Show notes and video: https://youtu.be/Li-_fnDYkBk 

The Hidden Costs of Software Estimates

What is the cost of your development team making an estimate? Is the cost simply the time it takes to make it (e.g. in planning poker)? Or, are there any second order costs as well? For your estimates, what are the side effects of the side effects?
Join Chris and Austin as they discuss what many organizations have paid for their estimates. After experience in being on teams that estimate and experience in being on teams that do not estimate, they discuss costs such as:
- 80/20 Rule * Cost of Delay- Design Trade-offs- Estimation Creation Time- Parkinson's Law- Cost of poor security and data protection
Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/ejm1_p0YsT4 

Many More Much Smaller Steps with GeePaw Hill

If someone asked you for blind advice, what would you say? What is your helpful hipshot? No need for it to be a universal law. However, it should at least be something that is generally good guidance in most situations whether it is tech, code, people, business, or process. 
Derived from his many years of experience and geekery, GeePaw Hill's blind advice is "Take Many More Much Smaller Steps." Join Chris and Austin as they explore with GeePaw the meaning and application of this wisdom. Lastly, we discuss the principle "The Code Works for You, You Don't Work for the Code."
Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/lHoOUylvfxQ 

Mob Programming in Intro Comp-Sci Courses with Youwen Ouyang

What was your college computer science experience like?Did it have helpful levels of collaboration and teamwork? Were you able to learn from other students? Or was it mostly divide and conquer in isolation?What would it be like if a computer science course were designed to not only teach you how to code but also how to have healthy collaboration, vulnerability, kindness, consideration, and respect? 
Join Chris and Austin as they discuss with their former professor Youwen Ouyang about her past and current applications of #MobProgramming in Intro Comp-Sci Courses where she shares challenges, strategies, and benefits of this approach.
Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/CFwjz3TZe-E 

Mob Programming Roles: Major Pain and Dr. Feel Good

While mob programming, how do you verbalize pain? How do you express joy?  When do you amplify pain in the mob and show empathy? When do you recognize happiness and encourage it to take center stage? Why call for a retrospective on a pain point? Why inspect and adapt to turn up the good? 
Join Chris and Austin as they share about the new Mob Programming Roles "Major Pain" and "Dr. Feel Good."  They not only give some examples of how to take on these roles in your mob, but also share some stories of people who embraced these roles in the spirit of continuous improvement to take their team to the next level.
Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/BfsxfEDn9q4 

Socratic Learning and Tech Optimized Interpersonal Interactions with Michael Strong

How do you keep engagement and productivity high in your interactions? Whether the conversation is about code in a mob programming session, market experiments in a story mapping session, or what is good and true, how do you amplify psychological safety, constructive radical candor, and learning? What things drive the interaction towards a consistent shared mental model and towards discovering the next best experiment to run? 
Join Chris and Austin as they discuss Socratic Learning and Tech Optimized Interpersonal Interactions with Michael Strong. They not only explore non-tech techniques for these crucial conversations but also share about some tech tools that have helped many optimize their interpersonal interactions. In addition, they touch on some agile/holacracy management concepts and their application to creating a healthy learning environment for large groups.
Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/dOG9nqX4Vow  

Legacy Code Refactoring and Mending with M. Scott Ford

When you enter a legacy code base, where do you start? How do you analyze the code? How do you set it up for safe changes? How do you know when to stop cleaning?Join Chris and Austin as they not only discuss legacy code refactoring and mending with M. Scott Ford from Corgibytes, but also share some analogies for code technical health and safety.Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/2ay2kQu6PZw 

Models of Teaching and Learning in Mob Programming

How do you prefer to learn? Do you prefer to run some experiments first and then later get guidance? Alternatively, do you prefer to first have someone with expertise model and guide you? Are there situations where one method is more effective than the other?Join Chris and Austin as they share about different models of teaching and learning they have seen work well in Mob Programming including the "I do, we do, you do" model and the "You do, (and if needed, we do)" model.Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/ygImu9e9O68 

AI Enabled Mobs for Learning with Carolyn Rosé

Often in mob programming great facilitators emerge. They rise to the occasion to help each team member learn and contribute. Now imagine a learning context where the great facilitator that emerged was AI. A conversational agent skilled and trained in sponsorship and mob roles. An AI facilitator that not only helps to keep the mob code flowing but also helps students work through conflicting ideas, collaborate, and retrospect. Instead of the usual "divide and conquer" seen in group projects, students build a shared mental model together and truly work together.Join Chris and Austin as they discuss the implementation of these "AI Enabled Mobs for Learning" with Carolyn Rosé from Carnegie Mellon University.
Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/LpbtwxxhTlQ