The Mob Mentality Show

In this engaging discussion, Dave Gray, a visual thinker and author of Liminal Thinking, delves into the power of belief and its impact on our lives and work. He highlights why many Agile transformations fail and how to navigate confusing resistance in teams. With his artistic background, Dave emphasizes the importance of creating safe spaces for authentic collaboration and change. His insights on perception and how it distorts reality reveal surprising truths, including why lunch with someone you think is 'crazy' might lead to unexpected wisdom.

In this thought-provoking episode, we sit down with Tobias Mayer—author, coach, and longtime voice in the Agile world—to explore the journey from his early discovery of XP (Extreme Programming) in 1997 all the way to today’s debate around the death of Scrum. Tobias shares his personal transformation from developer to Scrum Master, his resistance to early XP, and how he learned great practices from developers he managed. We unpack his reflections on Agile’s semantic drift, the role of Scrum Masters as change agents vs. bean counters, and what happens when teams do Agile without even knowing the Agile Manifesto. 🔍 Topics we dive deep into: Discovering XP through a paper against it 😅 When “Scrum” became a buzzword and what was lost in translation What it really means to live the values of the Agile Manifesto XP coaches, grassroots change, and learning from your team The difference between top-down control and emergent discovery Misused metaphors in tech: “firefighting,” “war rooms,” “soldiers,” and more Are software teams more like engineers, artisans, or ensembles? Can DORA metrics (DevOps Research and Assessment) prove or disprove Agile’s effectiveness? We also dig into mob programming (aka mobbing)—what it means, why the name matters, and whether or not new metaphors like “ensemble programming” or “teaming” (à la Amy Edmondson) better reflect how high-performing teams really work. 💡 Plus: The problem with the Product Owner (PO) role in Scrum Why language in IT shapes behavior—for better or worse Applying Artful Making to modern product development Rethinking business through the lens of theatre, philosophy, and cooperative economics The importance of psychological safety, dissent, and experimentation in creating real agility Tobias brings rich context from classics, theology, and history—yes, even turning a conference t-shirt into fashion—to challenge how we think about building products, teams, and businesses. 🛠️ Whether you're into XP, Scrum, Mob Programming, Lean, or simply want to rethink your metaphors and language at work, this episode delivers grounded insight, sharp critique, and fresh perspectives. 👉 Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of agile thinking, real teamwork, and modern product development. Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/ZFoY-De91BE   

Join Professor Ben Kovitz, a Computer Science educator with 15 years in software development, as he tackles real-world mob programming challenges faced in the classroom. He shares insights on balancing deep thought with group momentum and the debate between upfront design and agile discovery within a mob. Ben also discusses the dynamics of student collaboration, the role of the navigator amidst chaos, and the importance of structured roles. Additionally, he highlights how collaborative documentation can transform learning and enhance problem-solving skills.

🏈 Welcome to another episode of the Mob Mentality Show, where we explore the intersection of software development, leadership, and real-world lessons—from the unexpected to the game-changing. This time, we're talking Coaching Credits—as seen in the addictive mobile football game Retro Bowl—and how they map directly to trust, influence, and leadership in software teams. 🎙️ What are Coaching Credits? In Retro Bowl, Coaching Credits represent the respect and trust you’ve earned from players, staff, and fans. They let you upgrade your team, hire top-tier talent, and level up your environment. In software development, we argue Coaching Credits are just as real—earned through Extreme Programming (XP), Mob Programming, Test-Driven Development (TDD), Continuous Delivery (CD), and strong relationship-building. 👶 Austin kicks it off with a story about trying to stay awake helping his wife with their new baby—turning to Retro Bowl as a late-night lifeline. That sparks a deep dive into what the game teaches us about: Building trust and respect through small wins The balance between performance and relationships Using “credits” (influence) wisely inside and outside your team How to upgrade your environment and talent pool over time What happens when you try to “spend” influence you don’t actually have 👨‍💻 In Dev Culture Terms: Earn trust by delivering value. Spend it by coaching others, refactoring code, upgrading environments, or influencing org-wide decisions. Just like in Retro Bowl, you can overreach. Think: trying a big move when your trust bank is empty = a bounced check. 📘 We also tie Coaching Credits to Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits—specifically, the idea of an emotional bank account—and reflect on how these lessons align with the origin story of mob programming. 🚨 Key Questions We Explore: Can you go into Coaching Credit “debt”? Is quick wins and trust the only way forward when you're starting from zero? Are you too transactional in how you lead or code? Should someone build a Software Dev Sim game like Retro Bowl? 😅 💡 If you're a software engineer, tech lead, or engineering manager, this episode offers a fun but surprisingly deep framework for thinking about how trust, respect, and influence shape the way you build products and teams. Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/ZWgOkphBFNI  

🎙️ Ever faced a product vision so massive it felt impossible to start? In this Mob Mentality Show episode, we tackle the art and science of Story Splitting — breaking down huge dreams into small, deliverable slices without losing momentum or clarity. We explore real-world strategies, including: Asking the hard questions like Do we really need to release everything at once? Using SPIDR (Spike, Path, Interface, Data, Rules) to guide story splitting Implementing Feature Flags (tools to enable/disable features without deploying new code) for flexible delivery Creating color-coded diagrams to visualize release order and dependencies Practicing "Yes, and" techniques to manage big customer asks without abandoning Agile values Running post-mortem retrospectives focused on improving splitting practices Mapping ideas with Discovery Trees (visual structures for feature evolution) Handling the tension between Big Bang marketing launches and incremental delivery Influencing sales and marketing teams to only sell what's already done vs. selling the future Identifying the impact of poor story splitting on technical debt and customer trust Differentiating splitting technical work vs. splitting user-facing features Teaching business stakeholders the fundamentals of CD (Continuous Delivery) and good story practices implicitly vs. explicitly   Working through known unknowns vs. unknown unknowns in product discovery Using the Cynefin Framework (a model for navigating complexity) to decide splitting approaches Prioritizing with cost of delay and story split diagrams to maximize value This episode is packed with hands-on advice for developers, product managers, Agile coaches, and leaders looking to move fast without breaking things. Whether you're struggling with overwhelming customer requests, complicated roadmaps, or internal misalignment, learning how to split the impossible is key to success in Agile, Continuous Delivery, and Lean Product Development. Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/MjwIkiM25xM 

🎙️ What’s really happening inside your engineering org? In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we sit down with Philip Borlin, Director of Engineering and advocate for lean thinking, mobbing, and team capability building, to uncover how Gemba Walks, smaller batch sizes, and healthy team nudges reveal the actual state of your tech organization—not just what reports say. We explore how leaders can stop flying blind and start leading based on facts from the field. 🔍 Topics Covered: ✅ Gemba Walks (Japanese term meaning “go to the real place”): Why your assumptions about how work gets done are probably wrong How spending even one hour a week in the mob or at the code level changes everything The myth of managing solely through middle managers Why high-fidelity information beats filtered reporting Remote-friendly adaptations: mobbing, Lean coffees, and async insight gathering ✅ Mobbing (also known as ensemble programming): How mobbing surfaces capability gaps and builds shared understanding Growing capabilities without enforcing rigid standards Real stories of capability fire drills, single points of failure, and org fragility “Low and slow” growth as the only sustainable path to true skill development? ✅ Fixing Batch Size and WIP (Work In Progress): How large batches lead to delivery waste, delays, and bugs The surprising power of reducing ticket size to unlock flow Socratic coaching at stand-ups to improve team work slicing Giving permission to drop non-priority work and focus only on what matters ✅ Building a Learning Culture: Why capability resilience > retaining every team member forever Using “nudges” and peer pressure the right way Investing in bright spots without ignoring skeptics Cultivating environments where psychological safety and growth feed off each other 💡 Whether you’re a Director of Engineering, Tech Lead, Agile Coach, or Software Engineer, this episode gives you practical ways to lead with clarity, scale team capability, and build resilience into your org’s DNA. 🎧 Subscribe now so you don’t miss the drop: 👉 https://www.mobmentalityshow.com/ Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/bFMD0AsVDUA  

What if your team didn’t need branches at all? 💥 In this episode of The Mob Mentality Show, we sit down with Ron Cohen, CTO and co-founder of Bucket, to unpack the real story behind Trunk Based Development (TBD) and the practical use of Feature Flags. Ron stirred the pot online by challenging common assumptions around TBD — and now he’s here to clear the air. We talk about: What Trunk Based Development really means (Hint: It’s not just “no branches”) Why TBD isn’t just a Git strategy, but a safety mindset often backed by solid practices like Pair Programming, Mob Programming, and TDD (Test-Driven Development) Gitflow vs. TBD — which one sets your team up to move faster and safer? The myth that TBD = chaos, and why short-lived branches might still play a role How mobbing and pairing can make TBD not just possible, but powerful We also dive deep into Feature Flags (a.k.a. Feature Toggles): Why Ron became obsessed with them — and how they changed how his teams ship code How to use toggles for faster releases, safer experiments, and smoother collaboration between devs, Product Owners (POs), and marketing The difference between feature flags that require a deployment and those that don’t The value of “dogfooding” your features in production before a full rollout Why not all toggles are created equal — from simple UI switches to ops-level controls How to avoid the mess of long-lived toggles and clean up after experiments (Austin, we're looking at you 😅) Plus: How flags can power A/B testing and internal beta programs Fowler’s definition of Feature Flags — and how it is in action Using toggles to build internal and external trust Ron’s framework for different kinds of flags in different contexts Whether you're deep into CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery), trying to tame your branching strategy, or just want to ship smarter — this episode’s packed with insights you can use immediately. 🎧 Subscribe and listen on your favorite platform: 👉 https://www.mobmentalityshow.com/ Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/4PZN1yO8l2c  

What happens when a college software design course ditches traditional lectures and embraces Mob Programming? In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we sit down with Ben Kovitz, a former software developer turned professor at Cal Poly Humboldt, to explore his innovative approach to teaching software design through mobbing. Topics Covered: ✅ From Industry to Academia: Why Ben left software development to become a professor and how he discovered mob programming. ✅ Redefining Software Education: Instead of 30 traditional lectures on software design, Ben’s students learn by doing—designing software while coding. ✅ The Power of Mobbing in the Classroom: How students collaborate in the mob of 8, rapidly sharing knowledge and tackling challenges together. ✅ Fast Learning vs. Lectures: Why mobbing enables faster knowledge transfer compared to passive lectures. ✅ Strong-Style Navigation: How rotations and fast timers helped to stimulate a highly effective learning environment. ✅ The Role of the Navigator: How students help each other navigate, learn C++ and the QT framework, and document key lessons from each mob session. ✅ Real-World Software Challenges: Simulating legacy code maintenance, evolutionary design, and design patterns like MVC (Model-View-Controller). ✅ Overcoming Student Struggles: What happens when students don’t know how to navigate? How asking for help and learning together fosters growth. ✅ Teaching Through Experience: Letting students experiment with flawed solutions before introducing better design principles. ✅ Assessment & Engagement: How Ben measures student participation, engagement, and learning outcomes in a mobbing environment. Why This Matters: Traditional software design education can leave students unprepared for the realities of refactoring real code and collaborative development. By integrating Mob Programming, refactoring techniques, and hands-on problem-solving, Ben Kovitz is equipping the next generation of developers with practical, real-world skills and deeper design insights. 📢 Subscribe to the Mob Mentality Show to stay updated on the latest insights in Mob Programming, Extreme Programming (XP), Agile, and collaborative software development! 🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast platform: https://www.mobmentalityshow.com 🔔 Don’t forget to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more episodes on software development, coding education, and team collaboration! Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/Rajvp2nrg1A  

Garrick West, a seasoned XP practitioner and Agile coach, shares insights from his rich history in software development, starting with coding at age 10. He discusses effective strategies for building great developers through mentorship and an apprenticeship model. The conversation dives into mastering debugging with key techniques and the significance of communication. Additionally, Garrick emphasizes the revival of Extreme Programming, making it crucial for Agile teams today, while advocating for stronger collaborations between industry experts and academia.

🚀 How do Game Jams accelerate learning? Can mobbing make game development more effective? In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we dive deep into Game Jams, Mobbing, and Game Dev Collaboration with James Herr—a full-stack developer, game dev enthusiast, and published game creator on Steam. 🎮 What You'll Learn in This Episode: 🔹 What Are Game Jams and why they’re a must-try for devs? 🔹 The tech stacks and tools commonly used in Game Jams 🔹 How themes shape a Game Jam’s creativity and constraints 🔹 How James is bringing mobbing into Game Jams 🔹 The difference between solo development, swarming, and full mobbing? 🔹 Pros & Cons of Mobbing Game Jams—Does it boost creativity or slow things down? 🔹 How Discord & Twitch fuel real-time game dev collaboration 🔹 Can Twitch chat act as a “navigator” in game development? Does the live audience guide decisions? 🔹 How Game Jams reveal code smells faster and teach refactoring & design patterns 🔹 Why public game dev can be a game-changer for learning speed 🔹 How Game Jams can simulate real-world software challenges and improve teamwork 🔹 Mob timer tools & Git handover techniques for smoother collaboration 🤝 Why This Episode Matters: Mobbing isn’t just for software teams—it’s transforming game development, learning, and onboarding. James shares his firsthand experience mobbing with kids, running Game Jams with cross-discipline teams, and teaching mobbing roles in game dev. Whether you’re a seasoned developer, indie game creator, or just curious about Game Jams, this episode is packed with actionable insights! 📢 Want to Join the Game Dev Community? James discusses how Discord and Twitch connect developers worldwide, making it easy to collaborate, get feedback, and learn from others. Checkout James' communities here: https://jamcraft.io/  🎧 Subscribe & Listen Now! Don’t miss out! Subscribe to the Mob Mentality Show and get notified when this episode drops: 🔗 https://www.mobmentalityshow.com/ Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/AZEH_FmBBKs