🎲 In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we dive into a unique and game-changing (literally) approach to learning Test-Driven Development (TDD) with Ted M. Young (JitterTed), John Wilson, and Janis Kampe. Discover the origin story of the TDD board game that started as a simple teaching aid and evolved into a powerful learning experience for developers, teams, and even product managers. Hear how this game went from casual pub nights to becoming a staple for some in team training sessions, me...
Jun 24, 2025•48 min•Ep. 305
👨💻 Legacy code isn’t just old untested code—it’s a symptom of deeper problems in your organization. In this no-fluff episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we’re joined by Agile and technical coach Wouter Lagerweij to break down why legacy issues persist and how shared responsibility between product and engineering is the key to meaningful change. 🎯 What we cover in this episode: - Why legacy systems are just as much about organizational baggage as they are about outdated code - How true Agile t...
Jun 16, 2025•50 min•Ep. 304
🎙️ What happens when software engineers and leaders don’t speak the same language? How do context-free Agile practices and technical dogma lead teams astray? And how do we create engineering cultures that deliver real business value without burning out? In this Mob Mentality Show episode, we sit down with Kyle Rowland—leadership and software consultant, 20-year software engineering veteran, and author of Powerful Profitable Software Products: The Executive Guidebook—to tackle the tough question...
Jun 09, 2025•47 min•Ep. 303
What if your beliefs—about work, people, or even yourself—are quietly holding you back? In this episode of The Mob Mentality Show, we sit down with visual thinker, author, and accidental Mob Programming anthropologist Dave Gray to unpack the power of belief, clarity, and collaboration in tech and beyond. Dave Gray is known for Liminal Thinking—a book about understanding the invisible beliefs that shape behavior and systems. But did he know he was writing a book about us? Turns out, our Mob Progr...
Jun 02, 2025•47 min•Ep. 302
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 Maste...
May 21, 2025•46 min•Ep. 301
🎙️ In this episode of The Mob Mentality Show, we’re joined by Professor Ben Kovitz—a former software developer with 15 years of industry experience who went on to earn a PhD and is now teaching Computer Science at Cal Poly Humboldt. Prof Ben flips the script and brings his own real-world mob programming questions—challenges he’s faced while mobbing live with college students in the classroom. This is not theory. These are hard-won questions from the trenches of mob programming in a learning env...
May 13, 2025•50 min•Ep. 300
🏈 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, staf...
May 07, 2025•19 min•Ep. 299
🎙️ 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/disa...
Apr 28, 2025•24 min•Ep. 298
🎙️ 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 Wa...
Apr 23, 2025•46 min•Ep. 297
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 saf...
Apr 14, 2025•44 min•Ep. 296
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...
Apr 01, 2025•46 min•Ep. 295
🔥 How do you actually build great software developers? How do you debug like a pro? And what happens when XP (Extreme Programming) makes a comeback after the Scrum backlash? Join us as Garrick West—a seasoned XP practitioner, Agile coach, and software craftsmanship advocate—dives into: ✅ Building Agile Software Developers: From XP mentorship to industry-academia collaboration ✅ The Best Debugging Strategies: Unpacking The Debugging Book and applying its rules in a mob ✅ Reviving XP & Softwa...
Mar 24, 2025•48 min•Ep. 294
🚀 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 co...
Mar 17, 2025•46 min•Ep. 293
🚀 Why is there so much confusion around Test-Driven Development (TDD) and Automated Testing? Why do many developers struggle with testing, and what are they getting wrong? In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we sit down with Jason Swett—author, speaker, and a go-to expert on Rails testing—to unpack the most common misconceptions, challenges, and best practices in modern software testing. 🔍 Topics We Cover: ✅ Why Jason Swett is passionate about Automated Testing and why he wants to help ...
Mar 12, 2025•45 min•Ep. 292
How often should Agile teams reflect and adjust? Is your team on a road with switchbacks but they are not turning the wheel? In this episode of The Mob Mentality Show, we take a deep dive into Agile Principle #12, which states: "At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly." From a Mob Programming perspective, we explore what "tuning and adjusting" really looks like in high-uncertainty, high-interdependence work. Is it l...
Feb 25, 2025•13 min•Ep. 291
How do you balance small, iterative progress with the vast unknowns of research and development (R&D)? Can test-driven development (TDD) literally or "in spirit" still provide value when you're navigating uncharted territory? In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we dive deep into the intersection of R&D Mobbing and software development, exploring real-world scenarios, strategies, and challenges teams face when innovating under uncertainty. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: 🔬 Chri...
Feb 17, 2025•26 min•Ep. 290
Is the ultimate Domain-Driven Design (DDD) dream having a domain expert fully embedded in a Mob? Or does it come with hidden trade-offs? In this thought-provoking episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we explore the benefits, challenges, and real-world experiences of having a domain expert (or product owner) participate full-time in a Mob—not just as a consultant but as an active driver and navigator. 🔹 What We Discuss in This Episode: ✅ Quick Access vs. Full-Time Participation – Is it better to h...
Feb 10, 2025•17 min•Ep. 289
Can a combo of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Domain-Specific Languages (DSLs) streamline development by automating repetitive patterns across teams? In this Mob Mentality Show episode, we dive deep into the intersection of AI-driven automation, code generation, and lean software development. Join us as we explore: ✅ The "Generator for the Generator" Concept – How AI-powered tools and Mob Programming can create DSLs that automate code generation at scale. ✅ Handling Cross-Domain Development wi...
Feb 04, 2025•29 min•Ep. 288
Explore the exciting intersection of human collaboration and artificial intelligence (AI) in software development with this insightful episode of the Mob Mentality Show. Recorded for the 2024 UACon Winter: The Future of Product Development Summit on December 10, 2024, Aaron Griffith and Parker Barrett joins Austin to dive deep into how Mob Programming and AI are reshaping the way we build and test software. This episode is packed with practical insights, real-world examples, and actionable strat...
Jan 28, 2025•53 min•Ep. 287
In this thought-provoking episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we dive into the world of extreme ownership within a multi-mobbing environment. What happens when a mob/team wants to make a decision, like extracting a method, refactoring to a new pattern, or reorganizing code boundaries? Should that decision wait for approval from outside teams? Or does extreme ownership mean trusting the mob to act autonomously for maximum flow efficiency? Topics Discussed: Autonomy vs. Consensus: Should mobs prior...
Jan 21, 2025•20 min•Ep. 286
In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we dive into Sustainable Pace, a core principle of the Agile Manifesto ("Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely"). From software development to youth sports, we explore the massively destructive effects of an unsustainable pace and highlight the transformative benefits of a culture grounded in sustainable practices. 🔥 Key Topics Covered 1. The Massivel...
Jan 14, 2025•26 min•Ep. 285
In this exciting episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we sit down with Martin Christensen, a product transformation coach, to explore the pivotal power of mobbing in product discovery. What You'll Learn in This Episode: Mobbing Product Discovery What is Product Discovery? Understand the fundamentals user value, business value, and technical feasibility. Mob Style vs. Solo User Interviews: Learn how mobbing on user interviews enhances insights through diverse perspectives and how it contrasts with ...
Jan 07, 2025•47 min•Ep. 284
Have you ever wondered who else is adopting mob programming? Or perhaps you’re curious about the diversity of organizations that practice ensemble programming? In this Mob Mentality Show episode, we take a deep dive into the Companies That Mob/Ensemble Program Board, a powerful tool for tracking and sharing insights about organizations, coaches, and educators engaging in mobbing practices worldwide. Join us as we explore the story behind this invaluable resource and its broader implications for ...
Dec 31, 2024•8 min•Ep. 283
Have you ever wondered why Extreme Programming (XP) isn’t commonly taught in schools? In this engaging episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we dive into this intriguing question brought to us by the mob programming community. 🎓 What We Cover: 1️⃣ A Junior Developer's Dilemma: If schools don’t teach XP, does it mean it’s not critical for your career? 2️⃣ Academia’s Pushback: What are professors saying about XP and unit testing? Is XP seen as incompatible with academic goals? 3️⃣ Systems Thinking i...
Dec 23, 2024•27 min•Ep. 282
In this thought-provoking episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we are joined by Ariel Pérez to explore the fascinating intersection of Complex Adaptive Organizations, Organizational Topologies, and the FAST Agile Framework. Together, we dive into the challenges and opportunities of modern software development and organizational dynamics, offering actionable insights for leaders, teams, and anyone navigating complexity in their work. Highlights from the Episode... Complex Adaptive Organizations and...
Dec 17, 2024•46 min•Ep. 281
Is some refactored code truly better—or is it just a matter of taste? In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we explore the debate: Is some refactoring a subjective preference or an objective improvement? Join us as we dive into the fascinating world of refactoring, where code quality, team dynamics, and even artificial intelligence (AI) come into play. Here’s what we discussed: The Ice Cream Debate: The story of a team/mob navigating a series of refactorings and asking, Are these changes ab...
Dec 10, 2024•17 min•Ep. 280
What happens when teams, codebases, or systems scale beyond their limits? In this thought-provoking episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we tackle this hyperbole: “Is scaling the root of all evil?” We explore how the challenges of scale—in team size, code complexity, and even societal structures—might be the culprit. 💡 Key Discussion Points: Defining Scale Across Contexts: How does scale impact teams, classrooms, codebases, and more? Innovation vs. Scale: Does scaling stifle the spread of good id...
Dec 03, 2024•12 min•Ep. 279
Join us in this exciting episode of the Mob Mentality Show as we dive deep into the fascinating intersection of mob programming, neuroscience, and team dynamics with the insightful Mike Bowler! Mike brings over a decade of experience facilitating mob programming sessions across hundreds of teams and countless experiments. Whether you're a software developer, team coach, or collaboration enthusiast, this conversation will leave you with actionable insights and inspiring takeaways. 🔍 What We Disc...
Nov 26, 2024•49 min•Ep. 278
What does it take to shift from fear to flow when reading and refactoring code? In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we dive deep into **"Paradigms of Code Reading"**, exploring the mindsets and techniques that shape how developers approach software understanding. Whether you're navigating legacy code or striving for clean, maintainable designs, this discussion offers actionable insights for individuals, pairs, and mobs alike. ### What You’ll Learn in This Episode: - **Code Reading Paradig...
Nov 19, 2024•20 min•Ep. 277
In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we dive into our Software Professional Resources Board, a dynamic Trello-based hub designed for software professionals looking to enhance their learning and collaboration in the industry. Join us as we share the board’s origin story and our journey in creating a comprehensive resource for everything from Extreme Programming (XP), mobbing, and leadership to cloud infrastructure, agile retrospectives, lean principles, and much more. ### What Makes Our Boa...
Nov 13, 2024•17 min•Ep. 276
