Working in an ensemble, Mcr Tech Fest 2025

(These are the slides from Leadership Day at Manchester Tech Festival, Thurs 2nd Oct 2025.)

Ensemble programming, also known as mob programming, is like pair programming but more so. Described by Woody Zuill as “All the brilliant minds working together on the same thing, at the same time, in the same space, and at the same computer”, it brings teams together to maximise collaboration and minimise bottlenecks.

Some teams do it all the time, some use it as a targeted tool in particular circumstances – for instance when starting a new project, learning a new technology or onboarding new team members. In this workshop we’ll practice various techniques and learn how to make the ensemble work best.

Transcript

1. Working in an Ensemble @ClareSudbery
2. @ClareSudbery Outpace Conf, Manchester Thurs Oct 16th, 2025 Talk “Ensemble Working: The ultimate in collaboration”
3. @ClareSudbery Workshop lasts 50 minutes
4. @ClareSudbery RAISED HAND MEANS QUIET PLEASE, ATTENTION NEEDED!
5. @ClareSudbery HOW MANY PARTICIPANTS?
6. @ClareSudbery
7. @ClareSudbery Identify all concerns / challenges you can think of related to ensemble / mob programming. Write on postits!
8. @ClareSudbery Arrange your postits in two categories: “People” and “Technical”
9. @ClareSudbery ROOM 0 DEMO
10. @ClareSudbery From your “room” wallet, match proposals with symptoms. Then take COPIES of challenges from the wall that can be matched to your proposals. Don’t forget to add a tick to the original left behind on the wall!
11. @ClareSudbery From your “room” wallet, match proposals with symptoms. Then take COPIES of challenges from the wall that can be matched to your proposals. Don’t forget to add a tick to the original left behind on the wall! If you finish… If there are spare wallets, do another room. …or shuffle them again and swap with another group.
12. @ClareSudbery Are there any challenges left over? Can we write our own proposals for these?
13. @ClareSudbery ALL LINKS FROM TODAY (including a link to these slides)
14. @ClareSudbery Outpace Conf, Manchester Thurs Oct 16th, 2025 Talk “Ensemble Working: The ultimate in collaboration”
15. @ClareSudbery Trifork Academy, Amsterdam Wed Nov 19, 2025 One-day workshop “How to handle the technical part of technical leadership”
16. Sudbery Software Engineering Ltd Does your team want help to improve their software delivery? Coaching, keynotes & workshops Events and info: bit.ly/claresudbery Mastodon: mastodon.social/@ClareSudbery LinkedIn: bit.ly/lin-csudbery Podcast: bit.ly/3XvyNbU
17. THE END @ClareSudbery