Mob programming session guide

Ingredients

• 4–6 developers in one room or call
• One shared screen with IDE open
• Physical or digital timer visible to all
• Task board with a single well-scoped ticket
• Designated navigator role rotates every 10–15 minutes

Prep

1. Pick a ticket small enough to finish in one session.
2. Ensure the repo is clean and tests pass on main.
3. Agree on the rotation order before starting.
4. Set the timer to 12 minutes for the first rotation.

Session flow

1. Driver types. Navigator speaks intent at the level of “create a function that takes X and returns Y.” Driver translates to code without editorializing.
2. Mob discusses. Anyone can call a timeout to debate approach. Timeout pauses the timer.
3. Rotate. When the timer rings, driver steps away. Next person becomes driver. Previous driver becomes navigator.
4. Commit often. Push a WIP commit at every rotation boundary.
5. Retro for 5 minutes. At session end, each person shares one thing that worked and one thing to improve.

Anti-patterns

• Navigator dictating keystrokes instead of intent
• Driver going rogue and ignoring the navigator
• Skipping rotation because “we’re almost done”
• Silent observers who never call timeouts