Competence Milestones for Ensemble Facilitation

These milestones can help senior developers to reason about where they are in their skill progression with Ensemble facilitation. The Samman Technical Coaching Career has a similar track for Learning Hour Milestones. There is more information about training and support for reaching these milestones on the Samman Training Page.

  1. Take part in ensemble programming, contributing appropriately and leading retrospectives. At this level people can join a well-functioning ensemble and have the communication skills to contribute actively and appropriately as typist, talker and supporter. They can facilitate the ensemble retrospective and draw out learning and action points from the group.

  2. Support an experienced ensemble as an active facilitator. At this level people can join a well-functioning ensemble and facilitate the work, ensuring the participants contribute appropriately and rotate roles frequently. They can assist the group to successfully handle design disagreements and maintain focus on overall goals.

  3. For a team new to ensemble, teach them the roles and communication styles. People at this level can take a team new to ensemble and get them up to speed with using the roles, rotations and main communication patterns. They promote a positive and inclusive environment where developers are happy and everyone contributes. If challenging situations arise or team members are behaving inappropriately, they are able to facilitate and mediate towards a better-functioning team. People at this level will be able to communicate the benefits well enough to motivate developers to take part in ensemble sessions in the first place.

  4. Use Ensemble as a teaching forum, actively taking advantage of the coaching opportunities that arise. At this level, people can use ensemble sessions to introduce new tools, techniques and design approaches to a team in their production code. The coach may spend time beforehand planning the task to work on and will mentor the team towards successful outcomes in unfamiliar areas. They are able to use retrospectives and other ‘teachable moments’ to raise the competence level in the team.

  5. Coach other coaches to improve teamwork and lead Ensemble. At this level people will be able to work across several teams to enable good ensemble working and introduce new tools and techniques consistently. They will also be able to train and mentor other coaches. They can motivate people to take part in coaching activities and explain the value of their work to managers and other stakeholders.

Achieving some of these milestones will have implications for your Job Role

Note: These milestones are still in draft and under review by the Samman Society. The details are likely to be updated.