Thread by @tottinge

Q: Why say "ensemble"? Just use the proper name "Mob Programming!" Is this just PC run amok?

A: I needed a term to encompass Pair Programming, Mob Programming, and Swarming. That it's inoffensive is a very nice and welcome bonus (worth it).

You know, people snigger when I say "pairing" as shorthand for pair-programming. It suggests sexual behaviors.

People also flinch when I say 'mobbing' because it is a term for grouping up to bully people in schools and workplaces.

"Grooming" is another - suggesting pedophilia.

We deal with words as they are used and try to not draw connotations we don't mean. That's just being clear.

"Ensemble" is a good category term. The other, better, term is "teamwork" but people have coopted that to mean all kinds of "working near but not together."

"I tell you what to do, and you do it. That's teamwork" says the PHB on one Dilbert cartoon.

"Each of us does our own work: that's teamwork" many believe.

"Team player" is one who attends meetings and goes along without making waves. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"Ensemble" suggests multiple people doing the same thing together.

That's like "five musicians playing the same song at the same time in the same place."

It's a better image.

Where people get confused is when they think of ensemble programming as "four people doing the job of one."

That's such a misunderstanding.

Adjustment: think of "four musicians playing the same song" not "four musicians playing the same flute" and you get the idea better.

Rather than "doing the job of one" try to think of "doing one four-person job" -- the jobs aren't as fine-grained if you're doing ensemble programming.

Think how much "breaking down and assigning" that saves you, as the lead/manager!

My favorite motto for ensemble work is "whole teams doing whole jobs."

It's a great alternative to scatter-gather.
industriallogic.com/blog/scatter-g…