Gamestorming the Retrospective - Astrid Claessen - Agile SG 2013

Presented in Agile Singapore 2013 Conference

Oh nooooo, not again a retrospective. We still haven't implemented the improvements we discussed last month. Again those stupid questions... aren't we done improving by now?

Recognize this?...... Actually the retrospective is the most important of the agile ceremonies. The entire point is continuous improvement, and the retrospective helps you find areas and actions for improvement. If you are doing it right it is a very powerful meeting which will help you in successfully implementing agile.

Gamestorming is an easy-to-comprehend-and-apply guidebook to a new method of brainstorming; a world in which we use the basic foundations of games (yes, games) to think through challenging or sophisticated problems. Time to play!

Session outline:
* Why retrospectives are important
* How retrospectives should be run (Derby and Larsen model)
* What Gamestorming will add to your retrospectives
* Explanation about Gamestorming and some techniques.... and not just explanation, the audience will also participate in the game(s)
* Short "retro" to look back at the meeting to identity "take-aways" for people

Transcript

1. HOW   WHY   RETROSPECTIVES   WHAT   GAMESTORMING   YOUR  
2. WHY?   Agile  is  all  about   Con?nuous   Improvement  
4. Deliver  Product         Increment   Build   Product   RUN  THE  ITERATION   Set  the   stage   Gather   data   Generate   insights   Close  the        retrospec3ve   Decide   what  to  do   RUN  THE  RETROSPECTIVE   Observe  the  team  -­‐  Ask  the  team   Incorporate  Experiments   and  Improvements  
5. •  what  went  well?   •  what  could  be  improved?   •  ac?ons?   Most  used  format:   BOREDOM   so  no  inspect  &  adapt   Deliver  Product         Increment   Build   Product   Incorporate  Experiments   and  Improvements   RUN  THE  ITERATION   Set  the   stage   Gather   data   Generate   insights   Close  the        retrospec3ve   Decide   what  to  do   RUN  THE  RETROSPECTIVE  
6. Why  Games?   increasing  complexity   rapidly  adapt   they  engage  the  whole  person   reduces  fear   interac?on  and  crea?ve  collabora?on   adaptable  
7. PROCESS   GAME   A   B clear   goal   A   B   fuzzy   goal  
8. Gamestorming  your  retrospec?ves  
9. A   B   Ini?al  state   Target  state   OPENING   EXPLORING    CLOSING   DIVERGENT   EMERGENT   CONVERGENT  
10. A   B   Ini?al  state   Target  state   OPENING   act  1   •  set  stage   •  develop  themes   •  ideas   •  informa?on   EXPLORING   act  2   •  examine   •  explore   •  experiment    CLOSING   act  3   •  conclusions   •  decisions   •  ac?ons  
11. •  conclusions   •  decisions   •  ac?ons   OPENING   EXPLORING    CLOSING   •  examine   •  explore   •  experiment   •  set  stage     •  develop  themes   •  ideas   •  informa?on   A   B   Ini?al  state   Target  state  
12. Games:   •  carrousel   •  code  of  conduct   •  job  or  joy     Games:   •  welbeing  north  star   •  crossfire   •  speedboat     Games:   •  graphic  gameplan   •  35   •  20/20   A   B   Ini?al  state   Target  state   OPENING   EXPLORING    CLOSING  
13. LET’S  PLAY!  
14. A   B   Ini?al  state   Target  state   OPENING   EXPLORING    CLOSING   SPEEDBOAT   20/20  
15. Speedboat   Aim:   To  iden?fy  what  is  standing  in  the  way  of  a  desired  goal.   It  is  designed  to  gather  informa?on  about  improvements.     Players:  5-­‐10    
17. How  to  play?  (15  min  total)   Take  max  5  min:   Choose  a  ques?on  (or  define  one  with  your  table):     •  What  is  holding  me  back  from  learning  at  AS2013?   •  What  is  holding  me  back  from  networking  at  AS2013?     Write  the  ques?on  in  the  ques?on  space.   Take  10  min:   Grab  a  marker  and  some  post  its.       Write  down  any  reason  that  is  holding  you  back,  draw  an   anchor  on  each  post-­‐it  and  put  it  on  the  flip  chart.    
18. Ques?ons?  
19. How  to  play?  (15  min  total)   Take  max  5  min:   Choose  a  ques?on  (or  define  one  with  your  table):     •  What  is  holding  me  back  from  learning  at  AS2013?   •  What  is  holding  me  back  from  networking  at  AS2013?     Write  the  ques?on  in  the  ques?on  space.   Take  10  min:   Grab  a  marker  and  some  post  its.       Write  down  any  reason  that  is  holding  you  back,  draw  an   anchor  on  each  post-­‐it  and  put  it  on  the  flip  chart.    
20. Varia?ons  
21. Varia?ons  
22. 20/20  Vision   Aim:   Is  about  geeng  group  clarity  around  which  projects  or   improvement  ini?a?ves  should  be  more  of  a  priority   than  others.     Players:  5-­‐10      
23. How  to  play?  (15  min  total)   Take  max  5  min:   Group  all  similar  post  it’s  together  and  select  one  that     best  represents  them.  Throw  the  rest  aside.   Take  10  min:   Now  take  all  of  the  remaining  post-­‐its  from  the  flip  chart   and  select  one  to  put  in  the  middle  of  the  table.     Now  take  another  post  it  and  decide  together  if  the  reason     that  is  holding  you  back  has  a  higher  or  lower  impact     than  the  one  already  there.    
24. TOO  MUCH   INFORMA-­‐   TION   TOO  HIGH   LEVEL   UNINTE-­‐   RESTING   TOPICS   HIGH  IMPACT   LOW  IMPACT  
25. Ques?ons?  
26. How  to  play?  (15  min  total)   Take  max  5  min:   Group  all  similar  post  it’s  together  and  select  one  that     best  represents  them.  Throw  the  rest  aside.   Take  10  min:   Now  take  all  of  the  remaining  post-­‐its  from  the  flip  chart   and  select  one  to  put  in  the  middle  of  the  table.     Now  take  another  post  it  and  decide  together  if  the  reason     that  is  holding  you  back  has  a  higher  or  lower  impact     than  the  one  already  there.    
27. A   B   fuzzy   goal   GAME   GAME   GAME   GAME   GAME  
28. How  &   what  
29. “Gamestorming  techniques  are  a  great   tool  for  con?nuous  improvement”  
30. QUESTIONS?   Astrid  Claessen   www.kuzidi.com   @astridclaessen   astrid@kuzidi.com