We do mob programming for my current project, once a week, for about two hours. It is most useful for new features where people can get design paralysis, we've

We do mob programming for my current project, once a week, for about two hours. It is most useful for new features where people can get design paralysis, we've found. The benefit of familiarity are tremendous. The mobs have a topology, though - you can't just pull someone in from the other side of the office and say "alright John let's get rollin'". On the other hand, Architects (and other technical leaders) are good mob drop-ins. They ought to be looking at my code base anyway. It has also helped achieve coherency in design patterns, stylistic differences (which we also use tools to enforce), and testing practices. I get the kneejerk reaction of "it's hip or buzzwordy" but this is one that has worked well for us.