Swarming is an Agile method that focuses on small teams working on one item at a time with no estimates or roles. It emphasizes respect, consent over consensus, and maintaining flow. The author discovered swarming in 2014 when their team encountered a crisis with an unfinished application in production. Swarming benefits include no interruptions, context switching, or blocked time which leads to better quality, learning, and robustness. The author's team saw success with swarming for 6 months and it then spread virally in their organization. Swarming is based on principles like respecting all ideas and adds human factors like helping others, teaching, and interaction that motivate people.

1. Swarm: Beyond Pair, beyond Scrum
"Auklet flock" by D. Dibenski

2. I’m Danijel
•#swarming #AgileTD
•@darsenovski
•http://bit.ly/swarmexp

3. Quiz
•According to a recent study, people are happier
when they visit an exotic location on their
vacation
•True or false?

4. How I discovered Swarming

5. 2014

6. Catalysts
•We encountered:
•A crisis
•An unfinished, unusable application in production
•We agreed:
•To work on 1 item at a time

7. What makes a swarm?

8. •WIP of 1
•Done when deployed into production and
approved by PO
•Items are pulled in
•“Mobbing” on code, and on everything else
•No Estimates

9. Fluid leadership, no decision making, no roles,
no ceremonies

10. Swarm patterns
Branch out Keep one in the darkSpread out

11. Problem Solving

12. Benefits
• Work environment for human beings
Productivity?
“Let’s focus instead on impediments” (Woody Zuill) and how
swarming helps overcoming them:
• No interruptions
• No context switching
• No ”blocked” time
• No branches in our code or code reviews
• Better quality
• Maximizes learning
• Maximizes robustness
• Instant on-boarding

13. 2015 – Today

14. 3rd Floor at Alaska Airlines McGee Building

15. Swarming went viral
•First team stuck with it for approx. 6 months
•Monitors were initial impediments
•First monitor purchase open floodgates

16. ”Corporate” Swarm patterns
Ambassadors Hijack

17. Swarming principles
•RESPECT
•Don’t say NO
•All ideas are considered
•Everybody should have it’s say
•Consent over Consensus
•Maintain the flow

18. In the beginning
•Action figures
•Mediators

19. What I learned about motivation
•Name 3 factors that lead to better performance
(Dan Pink)
•Master
•Autonomy
•Purpose
•Swarming adds:
•Helping others (altruism)
•Teaching
•Human interaction

20. Quiz
•According to a recent study, people are happier
when they visit an exotic location on their
vacation
•True or false?
•False!

21. Social animals
"Man is by nature a social animal…”

22. Swarming is social and it’s fun!

23. Thank you!
Danijel Arsenovski
Twitter: @darsenovski
Questions?