Distributed. Woody Zuill on the future of mob programming, AI, and effectiveness
Aug 7, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Woody Zuill, a programmer and coach renowned for his work in mob programming, emphasizes prioritizing effectiveness over mere productivity in teams. He shares transformative insights from his global coaching experiences, advocating for self-managing teams that collaborate more harmoniously. Woody also explores how AI can enhance, rather than replace, teamwork dynamics. He provides valuable advice for new engineers and stresses creating supportive environments for meaningful outcomes in software development.
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Environment Enables Great Work
- Creating an environment where people have freedom enables great work to happen naturally.
- Heavy management often obstructs effectiveness by making it harder to do the work well.
Self-Organizing Team Success
- Woody took over a failing buggy software support project with a small motivated team.
- By letting them self-organize and experiment with lean ideas, they rapidly reduced bugs and improved flow.
Specialty Silos Fragment Work
- Separating people by specialty fragments knowledge and creates organizational silos.
- This fragmentation complicates management and impedes the actual work's effectiveness.
