Mob programming is a structured collaboration practice where an entire team works on the same problem simultaneously, with one person typing (the driver) while others navigate. The Trivago Intelligence team adopted this approach to solve PR bottlenecks and slow reviews, finding it particularly effective for architecture decisions, migrations, and onboarding. By rotating drivers every 10-15 minutes and making decisions collectively before code is written, they reduced open PRs from 20 to 5 and completed complex migrations faster. The practice works best for ambiguous or complex work, spreading knowledge naturally while building stronger team relationships, though solo work remains more efficient for simple, well-understood tasks.
Table of contents
What is mob programming?The pain we wanted to fixWhere mobbing helped mostHow we actually mobbedBye-bye SoloFinal thoughts501 Impressions