Ensemble Working - Definition

Ensemble working - when a whole team works together on the same thing, at the same time, in the same space, on the same computer.

You call it Ensemble Programming when you’re working on a programming task, and Ensemble Testing when it’s a testing task.

The term Ensemble Programming is a synonym for Mob Programming: it’s the same thing. In Samman coaching, we prefer to use the word “Ensemble” because it sounds more friendly.

Reasons to say “Ensemble” instead of “Mob”

• Ensemble has positive connotations and calls to mind a group of musicians creating something beautiful together.
• Ensemble working is inclusive of testing and testers.
• Mob is the kind of attention grabbing, controversial term that attracts early adopters, much like “eXtreme Programming”. It may not attract the early majority or the late majority. It may not be a good term to use in the kind of corporate settings where many technical coaches work.
• “Mobbing” in Swedish and German sounds similar to the word for “bullying”

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