getscrumban game facilitator guide

Facilitator's Guide

The GetScrumban GamegetScrumban.com

Version 0.1 (beta – Sept. 2014)

• Introduction

• Getting Started

• Modes of Play

• Teaching Core Concepts

– Leveraging Game Events

– Coaching Tips

– Game Debrief

– Other Resources

Table of Contents


The GetScrumban game simulates how a Software Development team using Scrum as their chosen framework can use Scrumban's core principles and practices to amplify their current capabilities, overcome common challenges, or forge new paths to improved agility.

This “beta” version of our Facilitator’s Guide is intended to provide basic info relevant to employing the game as a training tool. We will modify and add content as feedback is gained from the community.

Introduction


Core Concepts the Game Reinforces

The game allows players to experiment with and experience the impact of these principles & practices:

– Expanded Visualizations• Value Streams

• Types of Work

• Risk Profiles

– Pulling Work vs. Assigning Work

– Evolutionary Adjustments vs. Radical Change

– Cost of Delay vs. Subjective Prioritization

– Distinct Classes of Service vs. Single Workflow

– Continuous Flow vs. Time-boxed Iterations

– Value of Options

– And more…


Using this Guide

This guide is intended to provide facilitators with supplemental information and materials that can be used to improve the benefits of game play.

Purple-shaded boxes call out

segments of game play that

represent appropriate opportunities

for discussing core concepts.

As you become more familiar with the game, you’ll undoubtedly discover other areas and aspects of play that represent other opportunities. We invite all facilitators to share their learnings & suggestions with our trainer community.


Single Game vs. Trainer’s Account

Our platform allows anyone to create a single game session (to be played by one person or one team).

If you’ll be facilitating game play among multiple teams during a training session, however, we strongly encourage you to create concurrent sessions under a Trainer’s Account. This will allow your students to compete against one another under a common leaderboard you control (and enable you to coordinate game invitations among multiple participants).

Getting Started


Training Account Sign-up


Individuals who’ve already created an account can start new single-session games here.

Create a trainer or organizational account by clicking here.

Training Account Sign-up


There a 3 levels of trainer’s accounts. Select a version that best fits your anticipated volume of usage.

Game Sign-in


If you’ve set up a multiple game session, instruct your participants to begin play by clicking on this icon and entering their game code.

Game Sign-in


Be sure to instruct your teams to give themselves a unique name. This is relevant to distinguishing themselves on both your in-class and our global leaderboards.

Video Introduction


Our introductory video provides background that is relevant to understanding game play and highlights common challenges in a context with which most participants will be familiar.

Game Timeline


The Game Timeline is the mechanism through which significant events during game play are communicated. Participants should click on the “Close” button to view their visual work board.

Initial Task Board


Work items left over from the team’s previous Sprint.

Product / Project backlog. Hover over icons to get details on urgency & business value.

Team point estimates are displayed within gold box in lower right corner of each user story / bug card.

Initial Task Board


INSTRUCTION TIP

The game begins on a Sprint Planning Day.

This is a perfect opportunity to discuss Cost of Delay concepts in the context of the projected business values for features.

Facilitators can also call out how the visualization of this info represents a mode of sharing info that is different from typical Scrum contexts.

Initial Task Board


Scrum team members. Workers surrounded by a green “halo” are analysts, blue are developers, and orange are QA engineers.

INSTRUCTIONAL TIP

Facilitators can point out that daily Scrums are supposed to bring clarity to what individual workers are engaged with, what they’re committing to complete, and any impediments to their progress.

This is a good point to ask participants to consider how visualizing work status in more detail could be beneficial.

Individual Play, Team Play or Both?

Consider whether you want individuals to play this game on their own, as part of a team, or in both modes (at different times, naturally).

Team play improves an individual’s ability to communicate with their team and work together to secure an objective. Team interaction also better exposes how Scrumban improves shared understandings and systemic perspectives.

Individual play assures complete engagement and absorption in the learning experience.

Modes of Play


Team Play - Considerations

The ideal size for a team is between

2-3 people. Players may disengage if more individuals are involved on a single team.

Because the game involves constant decision-making, some teams may engage in lengthy analysis. When you have multiple teams engaged, simultaneous play will help counter-act this. Offering an additional bonus to the first team to finish or applying penalties to teams that finish play past a set time are ways to help assure speedy play.


Individual Play - Considerations

Individual play allows persons to engage in

trial and error experimentation without having to negotiate team dynamics. It may be especially beneficial to have individuals replay the game on an individual basis after a team play session so they can use that experience as a baseline for further exploration.

In most circumstances, it’s not pragmatic for a coach or trainer to engage individual players. Consequently, individuals playing on their own won’t benefit from pointed questions or guidance during game play, but game sessions can be assigned as a form of “homework” or self-study to reinforce concepts discussed in other settings.


The Game as an Instructional Supplement

GetScrumban is designed to reinforce basic lean kanban principles and practices to new practitioners. In our experience, game play is most meaningful when it participants play as a small team immediately following 1-2 hours of introductory instruction on Scrumban concepts.

Making the game available for individual play thereafter is a great way for individuals to further explore key practices.

Teaching Core Concepts


Game Play Cadence

The game purposely introduces a significant

number of events and changing conditions early on, then smooths out such events over time.

– The swift series of changing conditions helps simulate the impact of improved understandings and tools within fast paced environments. It may result, however, in a lighter absorption of some concepts.

– The slower pace as game the game progresses is intended to simulate the different experience of evaluating and responding to current ways of working inb the context of a regular cadence.


Initial Task Board


INSTRUCTION TIP

Story Point Estimation - On game day 5, participants are asked to consider the correlation between story points and the actual delivery of completed work.

In our experience, a minority of Scrum teams realize a close correlation between these two metrics.

Though teams won’t have an opportunity to immediately address this phenomenon as part of their game play, it’s a great place to have participants begin thinking critically about various Scrum practices and small steps that can be taken to improve them.

Initial Task Board


INSTRUCTIONAL TIP

Deployment Options – When participants complete all of the stories under one feature they’ll be invited to change their policy around deployment.

This is a good opportunity for fostering discussion around real options theory, as well as the advantages and disadvantages to deploying completed features more frequently.

Initial Task Board


INSTRUCTIONAL TIP

Visualizing the Value Stream – At the beginning of game day 6, participants will be given the option to modify their board design to better visualize workflow.

This is a good time to reinforce the distinction between value creating steps and functional hand-offs.

Also, note teams are almost always presented with a choice to evolve or not. These events represent great opportunities to reinforce this fundamental principle.

Evolved Kanban Board


INSTRUCTIONAL TIP

Emergency Work – At the beginning of game day 7, participants will be given the option to complete new work on an urgent basis.

This is a great opportunity to contrast differing options under Scrum and Scrumban (how each responds to and manages the reality of urgent work requests).


Evolved Kanban BoardINSTRUCTIONAL TIP

Expedited Class of Service –Teams that elect to respond to the business organization’s emergency request will be given the option to modify their visual board.

This is a good opportunity to discuss the benefit of visually distinguishing different types of work and establishing policies around them.



Deployment – Deploying features results in both benefits and costs.

Deployment dates represent a good opportunity for discussing these factors, as well as urging participants to think about ways they can start managing efforts to reduce the cost of deployment while addressing on going development needs.



Early Benefit – Teams that chose to expand the visualization of their work will gain an additional team member.

Though an indirect benefit, this is an opportunity to reinforce how even a small change like visualizing value streams across the workflow can help improve capabilities more intelligently.


Evolved Kanban BoardINSTRUCTION TIP

Fixed Date Risk Profile – The product backlog contains fixed date work items. Stories / features whose value evaporates after a given date are highlighted in yellow.

Facilitators can elect to discuss the value of visually differentiating various work item profiles, as well as discussing concepts of market risk and cost of delay in this context.



WIP Limits – If not triggered earlier by backed up work, players will be given a choice to add WIP Limits to their workflow.

These are introduced at this stage of the game to underscore the impact of subsequent events and choices.


Evolved Kanban Board


Game Summary

Common Topics for Post-game Discussion

We’ll be adding to this guide over time. Have suggestions? Be sure to send them our way:

[email protected]

Group Debriefings


getscrumban game facilitator guide

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