Sprint Simulation – Scrum Practice Game

A simple, interactive, and collaborative game to experience at a high-level the ceremonies and common practices of Scrum through simulating a sprint. This game has been used as one part of a longer session focused on learning about Scrum. Prior to playing this game, the team has read the Scrum Guide, been given an overview of Scrum methodology, and has been exposed through various other…

Let’s Take a Journey Retrospective

Timing: 1 Hour Materials: Journey Line template and a white board. Instructions: Select a Time Frame to cover (for this particular retrospective it’s better suited to cover longer periods of time: past release, last few iterations, etc,). Individual Reflection. Have individuals draw their journey line over the given timeframe on the template provided, annotating highs and lows (Demonstrate on Whiteboard). 5-10 minutes. Pair Share. Have each member…

Telestrations for Teams

Timing: Really depends on the group size, but I’d allow at least 2 hours for a group of 10 to play three rounds.   Materials: The board game Telestrations. There are two versions of this game, an eight player version and a 12 player party-pack version for larger groups. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/46213/telestrations It’s available online (Amazon, etc), or from most decent shops which sell board games.  …

Team Responsibility Game

Intention of the game The intention of the game is to experience sharing responsibility for a common purpose discover unhealthy team dynamics and reflect and think about better ways to work together. I use the game as a start into a longer retrospective in which I like to focus on the topics of team dynamics, responsibilities and sharing of the workload. Time Time required: 45-75 min Number…

The Newlywed Game

Timing: 15 – 30 minutes, depending on the ensuing discussion! Overview: This is a game about setting expectations.  That can be setting expectations between a coach and a team, or between a new product owner and new scrum master.  The point is to make getting to know each other and establishing expectations more fun! The ensuing discussion is a great way to establish a coaching…