Get Your Gamestorming On! Shift the Paradigm of Requirements Gathering

@Speaker #LavaCon

Get Your Gamestorming On! Shifting the Paradigm of Requirements Gathering

Michelle Caldwell

NA Digital Workplace Transformation Lead

10 years in SharePoint, 15+ in IT

MVP PMP CSM

Meet Michelle Caldwell @shellecaldwellFounding Member & President

Certified Innovation Games Facilitator

2 children (Heaven and Brenden) and 2 cats (Clark & Snickers) and 1 puppy (Ruger)

<Insert Head Shot>

3

Agenda•Introduction•Problem Patterns•Changing the Paradigm•Conclusion•References

Bad Meetings

The Facts

11 million daily

61.8 meetings/

month

50% unproductive

31 hours wasted

The Effects

91%daydreaming

96% miss meetings

95% miss parts of

meetings

73% bring other

work to meetings

39% fall asleep

5 Problem Patterns

Vague RequirementsTied to tech features – or not

Let’s Improve

Employee Engagem

ent

Better Collaborati

on WE want to promote

Social

Absent StakeholdersSomeone else is Representing their needs– or Are They?

Silver Bullet Do you have a solution looking for problems to solve?

Demos to define

requirements

Questionnaires define

requirements

Insanity : Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

-Albert Einstein

The New Paradigm: - Collaborative Play - Innovation Games- Serious Games

Envision with Cover Story

The object of Cover Story is to suspend all disbelief and envision a future state that is so stellar that it landed your organization on the cover of a well-known magazine.

Cover: Tells the story of your big success

Headline: The Substance of the cover story

Sidebars: Interesting facts about the story

Quotes: Quotes from potential end users of the solution

Brainstorm: Documenting initial ideas – this is important!

Images: Supporting the content with illustrations

Wrap Up for Large Groups

At the end of the time period, usually an hour, get the groups to present their cover story, essentially their vision of SharePoint, to the rest of the groups and then discuss.

Game Setup•Cover Story Template

•Post-its•Pens•tape

•Facilitator (# depends on size of group

•At least 3 participants

•A Scribe•Camera (optional)

Understand what success looks like with Remember the Future

The object of the game

This game is based on numerous studies in cognitive psychology that have examined how we think about the future. When we ask the question “What should our product do?” we are not given a frame of reference for comparison. When we ask the question “What will our product have done?”, we generate richly detailed, sensible, and longer descriptions

How to Play the game •Hand each participant a few post-its•Ask them to imagine they have been using your new solution for a period of time

•Then ask the participants to write down exactly what the solutions will have done to make them happy in this future state

Concluding the Game •Discuss the results as a group

•Confirm findings as a team

Game Setup•A Timeline•Post-its•Pens•tape

•Facilitator (# depends on size of group

•At least 3 participants

•A Scribe•Camera (optional)

Analyze with Sailboat

The object of the game Gain insight and understanding into the current state of the situation

How to Play the game •Draw and/or put up a boat•Name the boat to represent the focus area

What is slowing you down?

What can speed you up?

Power Dot – Extra Bonus •Give each participant a fixed # of dots

(time box the activity)•Ask each participant to “vote” for their highest priority pains and solutions

Concluding the Game •Analyze voting•Discuss the results as a group

Game Setup•A BOAT !•Post-its (various colors)

•Pens•tape

•Facilitator (# depends on size of group

•At least 3 participants

•A Scribe•Camera (optional)

Visualize with Product box

The object of the game Product Box lets you leverage your customer’s collective experiences by asking them to design a product box of your solution/service that they want to buy

How to Play the game •Break out into groups and provide

each participant with a blank “product box”

•Provide them with craft materials so they can design their product box

•Allow a set time for product box creation

How to Play the game •When that time expires ask each

participant to give an elevator pitch to the group describing why their product is best (no more than 2 minutes)

•Allow team members to “vote” on their three favorite ideas using “power dot”

Power Dot – Extra Bonus •Give each participant a fixed # of dots

(time box the activity)•Ask each participant to “vote” for their favorite product box(es)

•Quickly analyze the results•Discuss the results as a group

Shopping List•A Box!•Markers•Scissors•Glue•Magazines

•Pompoms•Foam shapes•Stickers•Pipe cleaners•Tape•Glitter

© 2012, Information Control Corporation 79

Sample List of Games•Speed Boat Product Box

•Cover Story•Remember the Future

•Power Dot

•Spider Web•Start Your Day•The Apprentice•Low Tech Social Network•Show and Tell•20/20 Vision•Buy a Feature•Give Them a Hot Tub •Me and My Shadow•Prune the Product Tree

Conclusion•There is a different way

•Try something New

•Field Tested – Proven Results

Wrap Up

Where can I learn more?

References•http://innovationgames.com/ - Innovation Games Website•http://www.instituteofplay.org/about/context/why-games-learning/

•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovation_game•http://www.gogamestorm.com/