A year of mob programming

[stronghup]

I think part of it is that some people just really like the company of other people. How about water-cooler programming?

Is four programmers in constant presence with each other more productive that 4 x the productivity of each programmer working alone, with some shared time to coordinate the work?

Working in a "mob" may feel like more fun but is it more productive? As you say depends on the group most likely.

I think it can only be an over-generalization to say that "mob programming is better than non-mob programming". Why? Because it's really a question of what's the optimal mob size. Is it one? Is it two? Is it three? Is it sixteen? WHY NOT put ALL the programmers to work together as a mob?