Crumbs to Collaboration: Unleashing Teamwork and Creativity while Teaching Design Sprints and Scrum with Gingerbread House Activities

I love everything about the Holiday Season and Christmas! Believe it or not, my idea all started with a trip to the Dollar Tree with my daughter on the hunt for pool noodles so I can make a GIANT Elf on the Shelf.? Whilst going through the Christmas section, I came across $1 gingerbread house kits! You know I picked up a few. The facilitator in me immediately thought…how awesome would this be for an agile facilitation game? Even if your company won’t spring for it, it is a tenner if that for some amazing team bonding and agile ceremony demonstration. This is how we Agilists go rogue. It is the Dollar Tree, so you can't go wrong. Get it now to do it next month. They do not sell them online, you can only get them in stores. This could be a great activity during code freeze in December.

In this article, we will discuss how to use gingerbread houses as a facilitation tool to help teams work together more effectively. We all know we learn better by doing something fun and relatable. You can even do this remotely as well as on-site for those RTO folks.

Design sprints are a powerful tool for quickly iterating on ideas and creating user-centered solutions. They involve a series of workshops and activities that help teams get from problem to solution in just a few days.

Using gingerbread houses as a metaphor for design sprints can be a fun and engaging way to help your team understand the process.

Here's how to do it:

Gather the Supplies

You will need the following supplies:

• Gingerbread house kits that include frosting and decorations
• Candy decorations for design and snacking
• Cardboard to put the house on
• Paper
• Pens
• Timer

Divide the Team into Groups

Divide your Scrum team into small groups of 2 people if working with a team of 8-10.

Set the Stage

Briefly explain the concept of design sprints to your team. Then, give each group a gingerbread house kit and set a timer for 30 minutes.

The Design Sprint

Have the teams use the gingerbread house kits to build their gingerbread houses. As they work, encourage them to discuss the following questions:

• What is the purpose of our gingerbread house?
• Who is our target audience?
• What are the key features of our gingerbread house?
• What is the best-in-class user experience we want to create?

Presentation and Feedback

Once the time is up, have each group present their gingerbread house to the rest of the team. This should mimic a demo. After each presentation, take some time to discuss what went well and what could be improved. This should mimic a retro.

Reflection and Application

Once all the presentations are complete, take some time as a team to reflect on the experience. Discuss what you learned about the design sprint process and how you can apply it to your work.

Key Takeaways

Using gingerbread houses to teach design sprints can be a fun and effective way to help your Scrum team understand the process. By going through the steps of building a gingerbread house, teams can learn how to:

• Identify and prioritize user needs
• Generate creative solutions
• Iterate quickly and test ideas
• Collaborate effectively

So next time you're looking for a fun and engaging way to teach your Scrum team about design sprints beyond Lego play, grab some gingerbread house kits and get started!

My Additional Tips:

• To make the activity more challenging, have teams build gingerbread houses that represent specific features or functionality of their product or service.
• Use the gingerbread house-building activity as a kick-off for a real design sprint.
• Encourage teams to take pictures of their gingerbread houses and share them on social media.
• Have the office vote on them or auction them off and donate the funds to a charity like Toys for Tots or a food bank. Share this on your internal network feeds and the team wins.

Gingerbread houses are a fun, low-cost, and versatile, fun way to teach Agile and Scrum principles and facilitate teamwork. By using gingerbread houses in your Agile and Scrum team facilitation, you can help your team to become more effective and productive. Remember, the goal is to have fun and learn! So relax, get creative, and enjoy the process.