Mob Programming

Connection - Web Hunt (10')

In pairs, deep dive into the workshop topic - 5':

• What is mob programming?
  • What is the difference between mob programming and ensemble programming?
• What values can it bring?

Group sharing - 5'

Concepts

• What did you see?
• What do you think about it?
• What about the roles?
• What about meetings?

No delays, a real flow

Use cases

• Create a new project / solution / system
  • Do it as a mob, it:
    • Involves every team member in decisions taking
    • Shares instantly knowledge inside the team
    • Allows to create the best system possible: "alone we go faster together we go further"
• Open a new User Story
  • You can do it as a whole team
  • Instead of having big discussions on how to split it theoretically
    • Take some times in mob and design the solution together
    • Put some TODOs in the code that represents the work to do
  • By doing so, you will agree before the implementation on what and how to do it
    • Spending much less time in code reviews later on
• On-board new joiners on your team standards

Concrete Practice - Crappy some code

The secret art of making yourself indispensable by writing crappy code !!!

Kata

In mob:

• Choose a code in a language you want to work with (C#, java, scala)
• Your objective : Apply CDD to make the code so crappy that other people won't be able to understand it
  • Follow the golden rules described below

• Make it in Baby steps (crappy 1 thing at a time)
• You have 80 minutes to make as many cycles as possible :
  • Be creative
  • The more brainfuck it is the better
  • Tests are green before and at the end of your refactoring

Mob roles

Use mobtime and configure below roles :

• Turn Duration : 5 minutes
• Create the 4 roles presented below

Driver

• Write the code according to the navigator's specification
• Listen intently to the navigators instructions
• Ask questions wherever there is a lack of clarity

Navigator

• Dictates the code that is to be written - the 'what'
• Clearly communicates what code to write
• Explains 'why' they have chosen the particular solution to this problem
• Check for syntax / type errors as the Driver drives

Scribe

• Write down the goals of each cycle in mobtime or other
• Explain why it has been decided
• For each stuff learned in the mob, write it as well

Crappier

• Anticipate what can be crappier
• Write down ideas that emerge in his/he minds and other ideas as well

Crappy ideas

If at one point you struggle to find crappy ideas here is a cheat sheet of crappy ideas.

Review

At the end, each mob presents the new version of the production code

Conclusion - Reflect

Take a few minutes to reflect and ask questions :

• What did you learn from this kata and from the mob?
• How does it differ to your current way of working?
• How mob programming could be applied in your current context?
  • When?
• What would you expect from it?

Resources

• Mob Programming - A Whole Team Approach by Woody Zuill
• The Surprisingly Inclusive Benefits of Mob Programming at Cucumber
• Puzzle-Driven Development
• Crappy-Driven Development
• Mobtime
• Ensemble Enablers