One of the most popular exercises for teaching Scrum concepts (empiricism, self-organizing, etc.) is the Ball Point Game (BPG), and most Scrum trainers I ask say they’ve used it. If you’ve taken a Scrum class or two, you’re likely to have played it, too. (Here’s a link to a video I recorded in 2012 of a large team playing BPG.)
When playing the Ball Point Game, a team will organize themselves around the goal of getting as many balls as possible passed through the system within a defined period of time. There are a few specific rules / constraints, and groups will typically undergo three to five iterations while tracking their progress. It’s a fun, lively activity that introduces empirical processes and lays the groundwork for a more tangible exploration of Scrum.
In late 2018 I started looking for alternatives, and it wasn’t long before I came across the Lean Workflow Design Game by Nancy Van Schooenderwoert and introduced at the Play4Agile conference in 2011. It’s a useful and fun game; nonetheless, I wanted to extend it a bit, share a virtual version, liven up the name, and give it a home online.
Recorded in April 2018, Vic (@AgileCoffee) was joined by his good friends Lorraine Aguilar (@Working_Harmony), Ben Rodilitz (@BenRodilitz), and Paul Wynia (@workagile) for some serious Lego Serious Play in Carlsbad, CA.
Upcoming events:
Agile Open SoCal – September 9 & 10, 2019 – Irvine, CA – more info
Looking for Agile/Scrum/Kanban training in Southern California? Rocket Nine has got you covered. Visit RocketNineSolutions.com today.
Recorded in April 2018, Vic (@AgileCoffee) was joined by his good friend and fellow #SGCAL co-chair Kim Brainard (@agilebrain1) to catch up since last year’s global Scrum gathering.
Upcoming events:
Training from the BACK of the Room! – August 4 & 5, 2018 – San Diego, CA – more info
Agile2018 – August 6 – 10, 2018 (Vic is presenting on Thurs • 10:45 – 12:00) – San Diego, CA – more info
Agile Fluency Game Game Runner workshop – August 10 – 11, 2018 – San Diego, CA – more info
Agile Open SoCal – September 13 & 14, 2018 – Irvine, CA – more info
Training from the BACK of the Room! – September 15 & 16, 2018 – Irvine, CA – more info
Here in the USA, the summer travel season is heating up. Before you head off to exotic destinations, I want to let you know about a special opportunity right here in our area. Esther Derby and Don Gray are offering their outstanding workshop, Coaching Beyond the Team, in Costa Mesa, Sept 13 & 14. I feel this course will be invaluable for those of you in a scrum master or coaching role. The early bird price ends July 1. Details on the course below from Esther.
Have a great summer, Vic
Learn how to coach beyond the team
Agile coaches and Scrum Masters face many challenges. They have no authority to insist people listen or do, yet managers and executives expect organization-wide results from coaches’ activities. Managers have authority, but often need cooperation from others to achieve goals that cross reporting boundaries.
Discover the factors in the organization that are affecting your team’s ability to adapt to change and deliver value. Practice techniques to help others see how the environment is supporting or impeding your teams — and gain their cooperation to enhance productivity.
Through simulations and small group activities we’ll explore common organizational patterns and dynamics. By using discussion and practice, you’ll learn tools that will help you communicate the changes needed to unleash productivity.
When: September 13-14, 2016
Where: Costa Mesa, California
What: Two-days of interactive, experiential learning
Tuition: $1175 special friends and family price through July 1 $1295 regular price $1100 group price (limited to 4 from same organization)
If you’re looking for a way to randomize a group and match them with scenarios for role play, I suggest trying dominoes.
I’ve recently been speaking on the topic of pair-coaching, and in developing my workshop, I’ve been tinkering with using double-nine wooden dominoes. The face of a domino tile is divided into two ends, each with a number of pips (dots)… or no pips at all. In the case of double-nines, the values range from 0-0 to 9-9.
Set of 55 “Double Nine” dominoes by Pressman
a set of Double Nines contains a total of 495 pips (dots) across all 55 tiles
In the days leading up to the Global Scrum Gathering (Orlando, FL), the Braintrust Consulting Group organized a two-day “Training from the BACK of the Room” (TBR) workshop just up the road from the Loews Royal Pacific Resort. It was a fast-paced, high-energy two days with Sharon Bowman and 32 attendees, set in a large, comfortable room perfectly suited for a unique train-the-trainer experience.
Before we began: the calmness from the BACK of the room.
I hadn’t previously met Sharon, but a year or so earlier I’d bought her book (Training From the Back of the Room!: 65 Ways to Step Aside and Let Them Learn), and I’d since begun dabbling with this accelerated learning model – combining brain science to training and (more recently) speaking & presenting. In fact, I was looking forward to getting a last burst of inspiration for my own presentation at the Scrum Gathering. (Spoiler Alert: I did!)
Different trumps Same
Jim and Tony came from China for the course… bringing translated copies of Sharon’s book.
Several of my colleagues from SoCal and across the internets had already been to Sharon’s class, so I was prepared to not sit back and be lectured to. Evidently, I was not alone. The other attendees came prepared to make connections both with the concepts and each other alike. And talk about diversity! We had no fewer than nine participants from outside of North America, and over one-third of the classmates came from workplaces with no knowledge of Agile/Scrum. The mix of backgrounds made for an uptempo, dynamic two days.
Sharon did not disappoint. Her 4 Cs, six trumps and myriad sources (Sharon reads a lot of books!) offer enough possibilities and permutations that you’ll never know what to expect. We stood up, stretched, and moved about the room; we spoke, wrote, drew pictures, played games and told stories.
This was not your traditional training. The projector was always on, but the slides were only to complement the learning, not to serve as the primary conduit to our senses. And you can forget about those lectures that drone on! We (the participants) probably spoke as much as Sharon, if not much more than she. We reaffirmed our belief that learners want to be engaged, and there are unlimited ways to introduce content to make learning much more interesting and effective than by lecture.
By prompting learners to access each other’s knowledge and experiences, you turn up to 11 the efficacy of connecting with the content and concepts. This course lets you discover how the human brain really learns, and this knowledge liberates you from any traditional assumptions you had about learning. You leave having practiced dozens of simple, brain-based learning techniques that you can use without hesitation the next time you train, teach or coach others.
Calling all Scrum trainers
Do you know any CSTs ®, or someone interested in becoming a Scrum Alliance Certified Scrum Trainer ®? TBR is so practical for teaching about Scrum that it’s nearly a pre-requisite whether you’re starting a career as a trainer or simply find yourself facilitating groups and leading meetings. A number of us in the class are somewhere on our own journeys toward training designations, and we had a couple CSTs as co-learners over the two days. (Eight participants joined me after day #1 to record episode 46 of the podcast, and this was one big topic.)
I’ve seen this firsthand while co-training. By liberally applying TBR techniques in a CSM ® course, for example, participants more freely ask questions of their cohorts … and share solutions! They don’t have to be spoon fed; in fact, Sharon’s TBR methods improve learners’ ability to remember concepts and access resources well beyond any two-day session.
Bringing TBR to a place near you
How can you spritz up your own training experience? Do you work outside of a traditional Scrum/Agile workplace and want to imagine the possibilities? I encourage anyone who teaches, trains or mentors to consider attending a TBR workshop. Visit Sharon’s site – bowperson.com – for a current list of upcoming opportunities. There you’ll see that not all workshops are led by Sharon; there are about 90 of us (as of April 2016) certified to present her 2-day train-the-trainer program – the one I’ve described above.
Sharon, however, remains the sole provider of the certification class for TBR Certified Trainers (course and assignments separate from the 2-day workshop), and this allows for consistency among practitioners. (I also took on the additional work to become certified, and my own 2-day TBR courses are being planned for California and Arizona.)
Sharon running the TBR Certified Trainer session
I introduced a dominoe technique during my TBR Certified Trainer journey.
On this episode Vic is joined by Curtis Gilbert, Larry Lawhead (@LarryLawhead) & Brett Palmer (@brett_palmer) to discuss topics from volume II of the Agile Coffee Conversation Starters. We dove into:
What are these Agile Coffee decks? We’ve assembled the best and most-popular topics from our podcasts and local meetups, and we created two decks of casino-quality playing cards. These decks are helpful for groups wanting start their own lean coffee meetups, or for anyone with a desire to start conversations. Visit our kickstarter page before Sept 24 to become a backer, and stop by agilecoachingcards.com to see some nifty photos and find out more about these and other decks.
Reach out to Vic (@AgileCoffee) on Twitter and use the hashtag #tellAgileCoffee to interact with us on an upcoming episode.
On July 25th, another successful 5Saturdays program wrapped up at Estancia HS in Costa Mesa, CA, and twelve students shared their takeaways with me on the podcast. These high-school-aged participants talked about the lessons learned over their five weekend sessions, focusing on job readiness and effective communications.
Topics discussed include:
applications of creative thinking
tools for critical thinking
facets of agility using Scrum
resume-building and interviewing skills
Our setup in the library of Estancia HS
One central theme that students spoke of was their interest in using personal kanban in their everyday lives, having recognized its ease and usefulness in planning.
I was happy to have met and talked with these students. They each agreed that they found high utility in the five-week course, and their understanding and appreciation of Scrum and Agile concepts was immediately apparent in our conversation.
I want to once again thank all student participants and wish them the best of luck as they finish their high school journeys armed with this new knowledge and unique experience.
Have you heard about the Agile Coffee decks of cards? We’ve assembled the best and most-popular topics from our podcasts and local meetups, and we created two decks of casino-quality playing cards. These decks are helpful for groups wanting start their own lean coffee meetups, or for anyone with a desire to start conversations. Visit our kickstarter page before Sept 24 to become a backer, and stop by agilecoachingcards.com to see some nifty photos and find out more about these and other decks.
Reach out to Vic (@AgileCoffee) on Twitter and use the hashtag #tellAgileCoffee to interact with us on an upcoming episode.
I’ve been talking up my Lean Coffee Conversation Starters since the early part of this year, mostly in face-to-face discussions. The decks I have been envisioning would each contain the best and most popular topics from my over three years of hosting local meetups, as well as a number of sessions up and down the West coast and throughout the Midwest.
Once summer hit, I poured much of my time into producing these decks: cultivating the right questions, getting the design and layout right, and running tests with printers and lean coffee participants.
I’m extremely happy to announce that the campaign to produce these cards decks has officially begun on Kickstarer. As of today, the doors are opened for anyone to examine these products and support their production.
On July 25th, another successful 5Saturdays program wrapped up at Estancia HS in Costa Mesa, CA, and twelve students shared their takeaways with me on the podcast. These high-school-aged participants talked about the lessons learned over their five weekend sessions, focusing on job readiness and effective communications.
