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Mob Programming in College, Retro Edition: Prof Ben Kovitz on What He Learned from a Semester of Mobbing
📚 How does Mob Programming really work in the college classroom? In this episode of the Mob Mentality Show, we reconnect with Professor Ben Kovitz to explore the raw lessons, surprising wins, and tough challenges from a full semester of mob programming in a college software design course. Ben shares what happened when he replaced traditional lectures with real-world collaboration. The results? Students developed practical coding skills, improved their communication, and learned to work together as a true software team—less ego, more shared ownership. From early wins with small group design exercises to complex struggles with C++ memory management and GUI libraries, Ben walks us through what worked, what bombed, and what he’d change next time. We break down: Why mob programming created stronger learning and better teamwork than expected How structured rotations got everyone participating and avoiding common pairing pitfalls The highs and lows of using C++ and Qt in a classroom setting The unexpected power of students struggling through real software challenges together Lessons on undo implementation, design patterns, and memory management from hands-on mobbing How a semester wasn’t enough time to fully teach long-term code stewardship and habitable design What might scale—or fall apart—if mob programming were applied to larger classes How this classroom experience mirrors the real world: legacy code, fast feedback, technical debt, and learning as you go Whether you’re a software engineer, an educator, or someone passionate about team learning, this episode gives you actionable insights into mob programming as both a teaching tool and a real-world development practice. We also explore questions like: Can mob programming work with 30+ students? How can solo work and group collaboration coexist in the best learning environments? What does it take to create code that’s not just correct—but actually pleasant to maintain? If you’re interested in agile learning, collaborative coding, and pushing the boundaries of how we teach and work as software teams, this episode is for you. Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/kbNEfAcfmeo
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From Pub Night to Production Code: How a TDD Board Game Transforms Teams with John Wilson, Janis Kampe, and Ted M. Young
🎲 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, meetups, and Agile coaching toolkits. We break down: ✅ How the TDD board game helps teams internalize the deeper steps of TDD beyond the basic "Red-Green-Refactor" mantra. ✅ Why the game’s focus on prediction, risk management, and working in small steps transforms the way people think about writing code. ✅ The surprising ways the game builds psychological safety, making it accessible even to people new to TDD or nervous about exposing gaps in their knowledge. ✅ How the game naturally leads to ensemble (mob) programming and seamless transitions into hands-on coding platforms like CyberDojo. ✅ Practical tips on using the game to onboard, coach, and improve team collaboration—whether you're remote, hybrid, or in-person. We also explore the importance of failing safely, incremental learning, and how the game allows players to experience both the thrill of success and the consequences of cutting corners—without the high stakes of real-world code. Whether you're a developer, Agile coach, product manager, or just curious about TDD, this episode will give you actionable insights on: 🛠 How to enable continuous learning in your teams. 🎯 Why predicting outcomes matters more than just getting green tests. 🎮 How gamification makes TDD fun, social, and sticky. Key Topics: TDD Board Game Mechanics & Variations Psychological Safety in Learning Risk vs. Reward in Software Development Ensemble Programming (Mob Programming) Transitioning from Game to CyberDojo Practical Coaching Tools for TDD and XP Building Stronger Developer-Product Manager Collaboration Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/GjcUdoS5K6I
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Why Legacy Code Is Everyone’s Problem: Wouter Lagerweij on Product & Engineering Ownership
👨‍💻 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 teaming—swarming, pairing, mobbing—can unlock speed, learning, and fun - Why your bug tracker is a graveyard, and how a zero bug policy can reset your team’s quality bar This is a grounded, experience-rich conversation packed with practical insights for developers, team leads, product managers, and anyone serious about improving delivery without adding more process theater. ✅ You’ll come away with: * A broader definition of legacy and how to confront it * Concrete examples of effective team collaboration models * A new perspective on software quality and defect tracking * Proven ways to foster stronger cross-functional ownership 👤 **About the guest:** Wouter Lagerweij is an independent Agile Coach based in The Netherlands and operating throughout Europe. He loves spending time with teams and organizations to figure out how to improve the way they make software, and make it more fun. To make that happen he uses the knowledge and skills gathered in over eighteen years of experience applying Agile processes and practices from XP, Scrum, Kanban, Continuous Delivery, DevOps, Lean and Systems Thinking. To turn those improvements into real business opportunities, he has added Lean Startup/Lean Enterprise approaches. Occasionally, he even uses common sense. 😅 Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/me9CSgmIRk8
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Powerful, Profitable Software Products – Behind the Book with Kyle Rowland
🎙️ 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 questions at the heart of sustainable, impactful software delivery. 💡 What We Cover in This Episode: 🔧 The Engineering-Leadership Impedance Mismatch Why do engineering leaders and business leaders often talk past each other? Kyle shares how focusing on both “how” we build and “what” we build—can prevent burnout, bottlenecks, and bad outcomes. We explore why real innovation depends on creating win-win systems, not siloed thinking. ⚠️ The Danger of Context-Free Agile Many teams argue about Agile, TDD, TBD, and pairing without understanding the systems that make those practices work. Kyle unpacks how context, principles, and shared goals determine whether these tools help or hurt—and how to avoid cargo cult Agile. 🔬 Empiricism vs. Philosophy in Tech Decisions Is the Agile Manifesto's call for empiricism enough? Or is there still a place for a priori reasoning (argument from principle) in engineering? Kyle argues for a balanced approach—using experiments where we can, and wisdom where we must. ⏱️ The 1:40 Rule and Escaping Tactical Overload Are you buried in endless 1-on-1s and tactical firefighting? Kyle introduces the “1:40 rule”—a lens for spotting when leaders are too involved in details and not investing in system-level growth. He explains how to avoid organizational entropy and shift your focus from maintenance to momentum. 📚 Plus: Behind the Book We go deep on Kyle’s new book Powerful Profitable Software Products, exploring practical ways leaders can move from reactive chaos to purpose-driven product delivery—while empowering teams and aligning with business goals. 🎧 Whether you're an engineering leader, product owner, or software dev, this episode is packed with insights on leadership, systems thinking, quality, speed, and how to build software that matters. FYI: Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/oCK1lMa2s9A
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Liminal Thinking with Dave Gray: Meet the Man Who Accidentally Wrote a Book About Us
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 Programming origin story and Dave’s journey are more connected than you’d expect. With roots as an artist, Dave brings a rare perspective to complex tech and business systems. From prior infographic posters that demystified RFID and Bluetooth when they first came out, to visual guides on inner transformation and his latest books, Dave's work simplifies the complicated and builds bridges for real understanding. With Dave we explore: What led Dave from agile software development to Liminal Thinking Why most Agile transformations fail How to navigate confusing resistance—are people really lost, or just saying “no”? The principles behind creating safe spaces and disrupting unhelpful routines Visual and liminal thinking for fostering organic authentic change, not just communication tricks Raw observation vs. narrative: how perception can distort reality Why having lunch with someone you think is "crazy" or "stupid" might be the wisest move The psychology behind tech resistance, organizational inertia, and true agility We also revisit how Woody Zuill and our original Mob Programming team with Chris Lucian smashed the belief that “real work” only happens in cubicles and outside of "meetings." The mob origin story had Liminal Thinking on full display as that team reflected, questioned, and ultimately acted in defiance of broken norms. The result? A shift in how we define space, collaboration, and innovation as Dave captures in his book. If you work in tech, lead change, facilitate teams, or just feel stuck inside outdated ways of working, this episode is for you. Video and Show Notes: https://youtu.be/fWF6kQBRdhg
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