We had 25-or-so people in the class, so they split into two groups (based around the teams that will actually work on the projects). I briefly explained the theory of stories and turned the teams loose.
It was wonderful to behold – there was a bit of thrashing at the beginning, then the teams self-organised and worked fantastically together. After about 2 hours we paused and had a brief retrospective (what’s working, what’s not, what still confuses me…) to ensure the teams remained on point.
The session continued until about 4:30, at which time we stopped and asked what had been achieved. The reaction was one of wonder – in the course of a single day of workshop they had scoped and prioritised the two most important pieces of work facing their group for the next 6 months. Every person in the teams understood their project goals and objectives and what the most important features need to deliver.
Some of the comments I heard included:
We achieved in one day what normally takes us six weeks
For the first time I understand why we are doing a project
It was an energising experience for me to facilitate, and I got the feeling it was great for the participants.
I’m going to send this link to the people who were in the session and ask them to comment. I wonder if their experiences were the same as mine…
Posted by Shane Hastie