Posts tagged exercise
Coin toss exercise
Jun 18th
This is a variation of “Value Flow” exercise that Sanjeev Augustine did at Scrumgathering 2009 in Orlando. I found this exercise very useful to demonstrate the benefits of prioritization and lower batch sizes. I have facilitated a variation on this exercise with different learning objectives. Below is a detailed description of how I run this exercise.
Time:
15 – 20 minutes
Input:
- 20 coins of different kinds (1,5,10,25 etc)
- Secret stash of 20 coins of different kinds (1,5,10,25 etc)
- Table large enough for 4 persons
- Stopwatch (1)
- Participants (5)
- Facilitator (1)
- Time keeper (1)
- Flip Chart or Whiteboard
- Chart or Whiteboard markers
Setup:
- Create a table as shown below on a flip chart or White Board
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | |
| All Coins | |||
| 1st Coin | |||
| Total Value |
- Participant roles
- Delivery Team member (4)
- CEO/Portfolio Manager/Product Owner (1)
Exercise Steps:
Round 1: Batch Size ALL
1. Ensure all team members can flip or toss a coin.
2. The first delivery team member flips a coin until it turns heads. Repeats this step for all the 20-25 coins.
3. Only after the first person is done with all the coins, the second delivery person works on the first coin in the batch until (s)he is done is with all the coins.
4. The third person picks up the entire batch and then the fourth.
5. Time keeper records the time taken for the first coin to be flipped to heads by the last team member.
6. Time keeper records the time taken for all the coins to be flipped to heads by the last team member.
7. CEO/Product Owner calculates the sum total of monetary value represented by the coins.
Facilitator sets up context that the organization is facing stiff competition and they have to deliver much faster that they did in Round 1.
Round 2: Improve Time to Market!
1. Facilitator removes the restriction that one person has to complete all the coins before the next person can pick any of the coins. Team members do have to follow the sequence of processing through team members.
2. Facilitator asks for the delivery team to do a quick 2 minute retrospective on Round 1and plan for the how they will approach the same problem without the restriction of flipping all coins before passing to next step.
3. Facilitator kicks off round 2, at the end of time box. Delivery team members may ask for more time for retrospective, but it’s important that facilitator holds the 2 minute time box sacred.
4. Delivery team begins flipping coins
5. Time keeper records the time taken for the first coin to be flipped appropriately by the last team member.
6. Time keeper records the time taken for all the coins to be flipped appropriately by the last team member.
7. CEO/Product Owner calculates the sum total of monetary value represented by the coins.
Facilitator sets up the context, that although the time to market was okay, competitors have gained parity and the organization has to focus on delivering higher customer value. They need to improve on that!
Round 3: Competitive Threat!;Prioritize and fix release date
1. Facilitator asks for the delivery team to do a quick 2 minute retrospective on Round 2 and plan for the how they will approach the problem this time.
2. While the team is doing a retrospective, facilitator asks the CEO/Product Owner to prioritize coins based on their monetary value.
3. Facilitator declares a time box for round 3. This time box should be the lesser of 4 minutes or the time taken to flip all coins by everyone in Round 2.
4. Delivery team begins flipping coins.
5. When the first dime comes off the line, tell the team “customer feedback, dimes have no value”
6. Facilitator hands secret stash, another random collection, of coins to the CEO/Product owner.
7. CEO/Product owner can reprioritize the new collection with other coins that have not yet been picked up by the first person.
8. At the end of declared time box, time keeper declares time. Out.
9. CEO/Product Owner calculates the sum total of monetary value represented by the coins.
Debrief:
Facilitator debriefs participants and other witnesses on the exercise. This will vary significantly depending on people’s experiences. The intention of the three rounds is thus:
Round 1, sets up the organization to deliver fixed value (total monetary value of coins). Team members usually are working at a frantic pace to get most through put with the CEO/Product owner cheering them on.
Round2, is still about delivering fixed value however after the retrospective team members intuitively reduce the batch size. So instead of passing 20 coins at a time, they hand off 2 to 3 coins at a time to the next person in line. I have observed that as compared to round 1, the team takes much lesser time to deliver on the same. Improved time to market!
Round 3, is delivering about maximum value with in fixed time box. This is significantly different than Round 1 and Round 2 since in this case the product ship date is fixed. Somewhere in round 3 by injecting customer feedback that “all dimes are useless”, induces additional uncertainity since no one can predict customer behavior/trend. At the end of round 3 time box, team often delivers higher value than round 2 and round 1 even with the uncertainity induced through customer feedback. Debrief points are around product owner prioritization, injection of customer feedback and fixed release dates.
The coins in this exercise may represent features or projects within a portfolio. It is very hard to kill projects/features even after we know that they are not worth the effort. There is tremendous value in killing low value high cost projects. Have fun! I’d appreciate if you provide feedback or tell me how it went for your team.
Sharing Values, a team building exercise
Jul 15th
A few months ago, I was facilitating sprint retrospective for a multi-cultural team that had members of different national origins (UK, South Africa, Angola and United States). We started gathering information regarding their first sprint. I realized that this team was struggling to simply get along! We took a step back and created a focus for our retrospective. We elicited the following goal for our retrospective:
During the course of this retrospective, team members discussed how they can improve trust, respect & communication within the team. The fact that the team had individuals from different cultural background was not missed. The crowning moment during the retrospective came when one of the team members said:
“In my culture, we have to be friends, for me to do good work. In the western culture, I have to do good work, for us to be friends.”
These words have echoed in my head for a very long time. His insight has been a great learning experience for me. I have learned to acknowledge and appreciate differences in individual values. But what are these values?
Exercise: Sharing Values
Step I: Identify a pair (optional)
Ask your team members to identify someone within the team that they are comfortable with. Ensure all pairs have been identified and if there are odd numbers of people, the facilitator can pair with the lone individual. Ensure that every one has some index cards and a sharpie.
Step II: I don’t like it …
On a single index card, ask each team member to complete this statement:
“I don’t like it when someone/people …… “
Encourage each team member to write down 2-5 such statements on separate index cards.
I have found that it is easier for us to identify behaviors that we don’t like, especially when we have been at the receiving end.
Step III: Exchange Cards
After everyone is done writing, exchange all your cards with your partner.
Variation: If you have opted not to do Step I, then place all these cards in the basket/hat. Now randomly pick cards from the Basket/Hat. If you get a card that is yours, then place it back into the bucket/hat. Ensure all cards have been distributed.
Step IV: I like it …
On the back of each index card, write down a statement that will counter your partners “I don’t like it …” statement with
“I like it when someone/people….”
You will be amazed how your team member’s insight into your hot-button issue helps you recognize behavior that you will truly appreciate!
Step V: Share Values
Go around the table where each team member reads aloud a statement that begins with “I like it when …”. Take turns reading one statement per team member at a time until all statements are exhausted.
These are your team’s value statements. These statements provide a simple list of positive behaviors that are currently valued in your team.
Caution: As a facilitator/scrummaster refrain from vocalizing these statements yourself. I believe it is very important for everyone in the team to hear these positive behavioral statements from their peers.
Step VI: Team Values Chart
On a Big Visible Chart only capture statements, that begin with “I like it when …”. Radiate this information in your team area for the benefit of your team members and others who interact with your team.
This exercise takes less than 30 minutes to do. Try this exercise again after a couple of months; see how far your team’s values have evolved. As a manager/scrummaster/team member, if you feel tempted to dictate good behaviors to your team, take a deep breath and try this exercise with them. Maybe, just maybe, your team will self-organize to correct its own behavior.
ps: Suggest destroying index cards that were used for this exercise.
