What is going right: Mob Programming Benefits (Part 3)
Here is What is going right: Mob Programming Benefits (Part 3). I will give a short explanation of the two benefits below. Check out the other parts of the series for even more benefits of mob programming.
- Temporarily joining another mob
- Redundant knowledge
Temporarily joining another mob
Yesterday I found myself alone at my mobbing station. We are not allowed to write production software without at least one other person mobbing with us. So, I rolled my chair over to the closest mob got my name in the rotation and began mobbing with them.
The mob I joined was in a language I have very little experience with and a technology stack I have even less experience with. But I was able to follow along and contributed to what I could.
I was mob programming with the team for roughly 45 minutes before we broke out for lunch. During this time I was absorbed into the new mob. It was an easy transition into the other mob. It did not cause disruption in the flow of the mob. And I got to learn more about the technology our teams are using.
Mob programming let me join an entirely different team and share my skills even if just for a short period of time.
Redundant Knowledge
When you have a group of 3 or more people all working on the same project at the same time together knowledge is going to be spread. Mob programming reduces knowledge silos essentially to zero. If someone is already very knowledgeable on a subject while the rest are not, the knowledgeable member navigates the others so the knowledge can be shared. Knowledge silos do not last long if they exist at all.
A second major benefit of redundant knowledge is that members can leave. For something as common as getting coffee or water, when a member leaves, the code is still moving forward. And even more importantly if a member goes on vacation all the code keeps ongoing. We do not run into roadblocks because of the redundant knowledge.
Redundant knowledge means 100% participation by every member of the mob at all times is not necessary. People can come and go as they please without worry.
That concludes What is Going Right: Mob Programming Benefits (Part 3), check out the other posts in the series