Sources of Agile Inspiration: Spotify, LEGO, and... Kramp

This afternoon I visited the organisation Kramp. Kramp describes itself as a one-stop supplier of spare parts, technical services and business solutions, and a strategic partner for agricultural, landscaping and forestry companies, as well as for the earth-moving industry sector and OEM companies.

I was invited by Tom Suter to discuss my blog post about scaling the Sprint Review. After two hours we did indeed discuss this article, but I also got lot's of inspiration in return. It was time well spent! In this blog post I'll share the pictures I've taken today and a video they've create earlier. It gives you an impression of the awesome Agile journey Kramp is making. What I really like is their feedback-driven approach. They use lots of creative visualisations that offer the transparency. Transparency that enables the necessary inspection and adaptation.

Well, just check the video and pictures yourself, hope you like it!

Gamification at Kramp

This video really is awesome! Together with Prowareness (Martijn Dehing) they created a game based on Dungens & Dragons to fix bugs in a fun way.

The Program Board

A program board that captures the work items for the different teams. Dependencies between work items are visualised by connecting pieces of red cord.

Team Manifesto

A team manifesto, written from the perspective of Kramp as a whole.

Definition of Done

Including the definition of awesome.

The Team Board

What I liked about this team board is:

• Daily Goals. Yes! Using a daily goal isn’t rocket science. But that’s the beauty of it. Applying it is very simple; the results however can be surprisingly good! Want to know more? Read this article.
• Hero of the Week. Who doesn't want to be mentioned here?
• Sprint Goal. Sweet! An indication you really understand Scrum. Why? Read this.
• No impediments! Well, at least for this afternoon... :)
• Actions from the Retrospective clearly visualised.

Burndown Bingo

This one is really cool! Burndown Bingo! Every x seconds the burndown chart of a different team is shown. Numbers written on paper are attached on the screen. The team can win or loose points when the burndown chart "touches" the numbers written down on the paper. Obviously the team with the best burndown chart gains the most points and will win the precious "Burndown Bingo Trophy". This really is a great way to make visualising the progress of a Sprint fun!

The Burndown Trophy

The Great Scrum Master

Hmm this was quite strange. Tom brought a book to my attention about Scrum. More specifically about the Scrum Master. The strange part was... I didn't know book! How could this have happened? So when I arrived at home I immediately ordered the book at Amazone.

Playing Lean

"Playing Lean simulates the experience of launching a successful product into a board game that can be played in 90 minutes. Along the way, players will learn the core concepts and vocabulary of the Lean Startup. And they will remember it because they have experienced it." This is how the related website explains the game. At Kramp they've played the game with some enthusiastic colleagues. I think I'll order a copy for myself as well. I know quite a few Product Owners that would appreciate this game.

Iterative, Incremental, Big Bang

Another cool game that I've ordered immediately. "Iterative, Incremental, Big Bang is a workshop game to encourage people to think about alternative approaches for tackling projects. However, rather than discuss boring work-like scenarios, we’re asking you to decide on an approach for everyday scenarios like converting your loft, cooking Sunday lunch or building a nuclear submarine!"

How Was Your Day?

Kramp is gathering feedback in many different ways. Currently they're also doing an experiment that measures happiness. When leaving the office, people can point out if they had a great or bad day. The results and possible improvements are discussed periodically. By now it shouldn't surprise you that I've pushed the green button.

Closing

I highly enjoyed my visit at Kramp today. They are doing a great job in creating an enjoyable work place using Lean and Agile principles. Prowareness also deserves some credit, Martijn Dehing and Remco Vroomans in particular! They supported Kramp in their Agile journey. To end this blog post with a brave statement...

Sweden might have Spotify, Denmark might have LEGO, but we've got Kramp!

Three organisations doing great stuff with Agile & Lean and a source of inspiration for others.