From the Birth of XP to the Death of Scrum with Tobias Mayer

In this thought-provoking episode, we sit down with Tobias Mayer—author, coach, and longtime voice in the Agile world—to explore the journey from his early discovery of XP (Extreme Programming) in 1997 all the way to today’s debate around the death of Scrum.

Tobias shares his personal transformation from developer to Scrum Master, his resistance to early XP, and how he learned great practices from developers he managed. We unpack his reflections on Agile’s semantic drift, the role of Scrum Masters as change agents vs. bean counters, and what happens when teams do Agile without even knowing the Agile Manifesto.

🔍 Topics we dive deep into:

• Discovering XP through a paper against it 😅
  
  
• When “Scrum” became a buzzword and what was lost in translation
  
  
• What it really means to live the values of the Agile Manifesto
  
  
• XP coaches, grassroots change, and learning from your team
  
  
• The difference between top-down control and emergent discovery
  
  
• Misused metaphors in tech: “firefighting,” “war rooms,” “soldiers,” and more
  
  
• Are software teams more like engineers, artisans, or ensembles?
  
  
• Can DORA metrics (DevOps Research and Assessment) prove or disprove Agile’s effectiveness?
  
  

We also dig into mob programming (aka mobbing)—what it means, why the name matters, and whether or not new metaphors like “ensemble programming” or “teaming” (à la Amy Edmondson) better reflect how high-performing teams really work.

💡 Plus:

• The problem with the Product Owner (PO) role in Scrum
  
  
• Why language in IT shapes behavior—for better or worse
  
  
• Applying Artful Making to modern product development
  
  
• Rethinking business through the lens of theatre, philosophy, and cooperative economics
  
  
• The importance of psychological safety, dissent, and experimentation in creating real agility
  
  

Tobias brings rich context from classics, theology, and history—yes, even turning a conference t-shirt into fashion—to challenge how we think about building products, teams, and businesses.

🛠️ Whether you're into XP, Scrum, Mob Programming, Lean, or simply want to rethink your metaphors and language at work, this episode delivers grounded insight, sharp critique, and fresh perspectives.

👉 Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of agile thinking, real teamwork, and modern product development.

Video and show notes: https://youtu.be/ZFoY-De91BE