House builder: learn scrum principles

Welcome to House Building! This game is often used as a fun and interactive way to introduce Agile and Lean principles to teams and encourage them to think about how they can work more effectively together. It's a great tool for fostering discussion and learning in a workshop or training setting.

You’ll need to group, typically with at least 5-10 people per team. You can make them play as a single team or compete with multiple teams. Copy as many boards as you need to facilitate and use the Miro timer to keep track of each round. Click on the Frames icon in the floating tool menus so you can see each of the slides, 4 rounds, and retros.

Scenario

You are a construction company building houses. Your customers want different styles, but building code rules say all houses have to be the same. Your job is to build houses that match the perfect house image as fast as possible. 

The objective is to, as one team, build as many houses as possible in 4 sprints, by respecting the following rules:

• Valid jobs are (a) copypaster, (b) assembler, or (c) painter
• Everyone is a specialist. They cannot work cross-functionally
• Every house must be a different color, and entirely the same color
• More than one house can be built at the same time
• Unfinished houses have to be discarded at the end of the iteration
• Only house pieces can be copied and pasted. Not full houses

1. Get the team and show the game scenario and provide the rules. Each round has the following structure:
   2 min: planning/retrospective (no building)
   2 min: build
   2 min: the market is buying
2. At the end of the planning, the team needs to provide an estimate of how many houses they'll build in the following iteration
3. Start the game and time it. Make sure the team respects the rules and be quite drastic about it.
4. Record the score and then time their retrospective. Let the team suggest changes in how they play, including new strategies and estimates.
5. Repeat the above process for as many iterations as possible.
6. After all iterations, run a debrief session to discuss the performance, strategies, and insights.

• Experience self-organization and adaptation
• Learn the importance of teamwork and collaboration
• Understand the effects of limiting your Work in Progress (WIP)

The house builder game serves as a dynamic and engaging tool, providing valuable insights into agile principles and fostering a collaborative mindset among team members.

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