When I do workshops or talks on Software Teaming (Mob Programming) some people express reasons why they won’t work this way. It is always been my thinking that it is up to the individuals to decide whether they want to work to this or not. That it’s voluntary. However… - ThreadSky

woodyzuill.bsky.social • 53 days ago

When I do workshops or talks on Software Teaming (Mob Programming) some people express reasons why they won’t work this way.

It is always been my thinking that it is up to the individuals to decide whether they want to work to this or not. That it’s voluntary.

However…

Comments

e-movimento.com•53 days ago

Despite being around for some time and in contrast to other techniques, there is not much scientific evidence on mob programming. I speculate that this might be due to the false claims of some, that one cannot collect evidence on it.

e-movimento.com•53 days ago

The best I've found is a meta analyses by Wang und Manos 2023. They conclude that mob programming leads to less stress, but is not to be recommended in situations that need intensive collaboration and knowledge-transfer.

e-movimento.com•53 days ago

I would hope that the mob community was more open to science by e.g. supporting students in gathering scientific evidence on it. Unfortunately they usually come up with "try it, then you'll see" which is pointless if no evidence is gathered.

woodyzuill.bsky.social•51 days ago

There are decades of research on the effectiveness of teamwork. There seems to be a great deal of evidence supporting that teamwork is beneficial.

shadowmanos.bsky.social•50 days ago

This is a classic example of how teamwork is misinterpreted in the software industry. In a music band, very much a case of teamwork, each musician is playing their own instrument, all performing the same song. You're saying there's evidence that handing one guitar to 5 musicians is more effective?

woodyzuill.bsky.social•50 days ago

That would be an interesting experiment. I don’t think that there is “One way“ to do teamwork. As I’ve seen it, there are many many ways. And I’d love to hear how the “software industry” interprets teamwork. I was suspect there are many many interpretations

e-movimento.com•51 days ago

Mob programming is a specific form of teamwork. As is pair-programming and as well solo-programming (in a team). The efficiency of pair-programming in contrast to solo-programming is scientifically well understood. Not so for mob programming.

woodyzuill.bsky.social•51 days ago

Perhaps so. But teamwork is a human thing going back to the beginning of humans, and before.

e-movimento.com•51 days ago

Sure. Nevertheless it always depends on the task if teamwork is more effective/efficient than strict solo. And concerning software, which form of teamwork is to be applied when. More is not always better.

woodyzuill.bsky.social•51 days ago

Maybe so. I’ve never said teamwork is the only way to work. Mob Programming doesn’t replace solo or pair work. It is just another way to work.

lisihocke.bsky.social•52 days ago

That list would be very interesting to see. In my personal experience people often thought they already work closely in a team (they didn't in my mental model) so often reasons were: They've never experienced it this way. They don't know what's in it for them. It takes time to learn it do well. 1/3

lisihocke.bsky.social•52 days ago

It's scary, they have to show what you know and what not, they might feel getting controlled or micromanaged, they fear losing their identity, market value, etc. It clashes with their belief of the perceived need to specialize, and/or their desire not to bother about other things. 2/3

lisihocke.bsky.social•52 days ago

They believe they're always faster on their own. They believe they can currently deliver on their own (which is usually not the case). They assume it's unfriendly/unsuited for introverts and neurodivergent folks. And so on. That's just from top of my mind right now. 3/3

woodyzuill.bsky.social•51 days ago

These are all great. I’ve heard numerous reasons, and I’m feel it’s worthwhile for me to start investigating these.

woodyzuill.bsky.social•51 days ago

These are great!

woodyzuill.bsky.social•51 days ago

This is helpful. I’ll share a short list of the things I’ve heard soon.

woodyzuill.bsky.social•53 days ago

I will typically share a few ideas related to whatever reason they give me and why they might want to reconsider. But I never try to convince anybody to work on a team.

However, as with a lot of things that I hear frequently, I start making a list of the things I hear.

2/…

woodyzuill.bsky.social•53 days ago

For example, I often would hear reasons why we can’t get our work done, and I start keeping a list of the most frequently stated reasons and now I have a collection of about 200 of those somewhere.

So I’m thinking of starting a list of the reasons people do not want to work closely on a team.

3/…

woodyzuill.bsky.social•53 days ago

I’m sure that everyone here has heard arguments against working closely as a team. Or perhaps you have reasons that you don’t wanna work as a team.

I would love to hear ideas from everyone if you are willing to share.

4/…

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply