There are a few games and exercises that you can use to help teams understand the why and the mechanics of being agile. Take a look at:
- Rival Effort – a three-to-five person game that explores process optimization and efficiency strategies, asking players to allocate their effort between projects. Through the game participants become managers in a company competing to make as much revenue as possible, and thus winning a promotion. After playing the game, an open discussion and debrief with all of the players ensure a solid understanding of the key principals and learning of the game.
- getKanban – the quickest, most effective way to teach the principles and mechanics of Kanban. Ideally played with multiple teams of 5-6 people to keep it moving along and make it competitive.
- 8 Great Short Games for Groups – a compendium of games for teams to play.
- Scrum Lego City – simulate every aspect of the Scrum process in a fun way.
- Penny Queuing Exercise – understand the efficiency that can come from moving away from a waterfall or large batch process. The exercise can be done with 20 pennies, 5 people and a clock with a second hand.
Have you got a favourite game that you play with teams to help them understand agile and lean practices and principles? Reach out on Twitter @VelocityCounts and let us know.