[teampractices] My experience at Agile Games West 2016

Tue Nov 29 22:38:01 UTC 2016

#thatfeelingwhenacardinpandemicisanepidemiccard

On Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 2:17 PM, Kevin Smith <ksmith at wikimedia.org> wrote:

> Following up on the "play personality types".
>
> First, they helped me and my wife understand more clearly why we each
> enjoy (or hate) certain boardgames.
>
> Second, while comparing that framework to a couple others, I noticed that
> "adrenaline" doesn't really fit into any of these types. I'm thinking the
> thrill you might get from skydiving, gambling, or public performance. For
> some people (not me!), that's the best kind of fun there is, but it doesn't
> seem to be represented by any play personality type.
>
>
>
> Kevin Smith
> Agile Coach, Wikimedia Foundation
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 20, 2016 at 3:32 PM, Max Binder <mbinder at wikimedia.org> wrote:
>
>> The "Play Personality" types are really interesting. As a fan of modern
>>> boardgames, I want to point out that the "Competitor" doesn't have to be in
>>> competition with other people. Cooperative games are a great example of
>>> fulfilling a desire to win, but doing so *with* others, rather than
>>> *against* them. Plus, as the full description of that type mentions, it's
>>> about optimization as well as winning. I would argue that it's more about
>>> optimization than winning: Doing my best in a game is far more important
>>> than doing better than someone else.
>>
>>
>> We talked about this, too, and acknowledged that in this setting Fluxx
>> was almost like a team game, seeing whether or not it was possible to get
>> to the end (not always a clear given). I also ventured Pandemic as an
>> example of a similar analogous game, but more serious-minded and explicitly
>> co-op (though much harder).
>>
>> I was wondering if based on your experience or what was shared each one
>>> might be more appropriate to use at certain points with Scrum team or
>>> events. For example, a game may be used at a retrospective or one if it's a
>>> newly formed Scrum team?
>>
>>
>> I think Fluxx is actually a good game for getting a new group of people
>> to bond in 45 mins. Walls to intimacy are quickly broken down, and
>> participants quickly leave their comfort zones (or quickly recognize
>> boundaries). The group also rapidly develops a shared understanding around
>> language used to "enforce" the rules of the game, which can be crucial when
>> working with a team in a Scrum setting (or any setting in which there are
>> clear process "rules" yet space to push back).
>>
>> Also, I would like to ask if there was any sharing on Humor in the
>>> workplace
>>> <https://submissions-production.s3.amazonaws.com/attachments/attachments/000/002/620/original/Humor_trumps_all_Agile_2016.compressed.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIKK35CR3V3P7N25A&Expires=1476918863&Signature=oY1vSG%2FGC7mavsyO5hYWrokHtEs%3D>? There
>>> was a Meet up
>>> <https://www.meetup.com/Silicon-Valley-Agile-Leadership-Network/events/234420664/> where
>>> Tamsen Mitchell recently share this topic.  If you have any experience or
>>> thoughts on the topic I'd love to hear. My previous experience it's a
>>> common language that often brings a team together.
>>
>>
>>  There wasn't much discussion of humor specifically but it did seem to be
>> wrapped into the keynote discussion on "play" and the importance of
>> enjoying yourselves.
>>
>> On Wed, Oct 19, 2016 at 4:06 PM, Geeta Kavathekar <
>> geetakavathekar at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Max, All,
>>>
>>> I really enjoyed learning about these games. I can see how it definitely
>>> can increase the productivity, cohesiveness and collaboration with the
>>> team. I was wondering if based on your experience or what was shared each
>>> one might be more appropriate to use at certain points with Scrum team or
>>> events. For example, a game may be used at a retrospective or one if it's a
>>> newly formed Scrum team?
>>>
>>> Also, I would like to ask if there was any sharing on Humor in the
>>> workplace
>>> <https://submissions-production.s3.amazonaws.com/attachments/attachments/000/002/620/original/Humor_trumps_all_Agile_2016.compressed.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIKK35CR3V3P7N25A&Expires=1476918863&Signature=oY1vSG%2FGC7mavsyO5hYWrokHtEs%3D>? There
>>> was a Meet up
>>> <https://www.meetup.com/Silicon-Valley-Agile-Leadership-Network/events/234420664/> where
>>> Tamsen Mitchell recently share this topic.  If you have any experience or
>>> thoughts on the topic I'd love to hear. My previous experience it's a
>>> common language that often brings a team together.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Geeta
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 1:57 PM, Kevin Smith <ksmith at wikimedia.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Thanks Max!!!
>>>>
>>>> This was all a good reminder of that wide variety of activities that
>>>> fall under the "play" and "games" umbrellas. Learning a new language,
>>>> collecting salt shakers, and telling jokes can all be considered part of
>>>> that world.
>>>>
>>>> The "Play Personality" types are really interesting. As a fan of modern
>>>> boardgames, I want to point out that the "Competitor" doesn't have to be in
>>>> competition with other people. Cooperative games are a great example of
>>>> fulfilling a desire to win, but doing so *with* others, rather than
>>>> *against* them. Plus, as the full description of that type mentions, it's
>>>> about optimization as well as winning. I would argue that it's more about
>>>> optimization than winning: Doing my best in a game is far more important
>>>> than doing better than someone else.
>>>>
>>>> Although I'm not a huge fan of the card game Fluxx, it sounds like that
>>>> next session used it very effectively. There is an obscure cooperative game
>>>> ("Divinity") that has similar core mechanisms to Fluxx. If I buy it, maybe
>>>> I'll bring it to a TPG event to try.
>>>>
>>>> Like Arthur, I want to hear more about the sorting hat. At a glance, it
>>>> reminds me of the old (apparently misnamed) "Bayesian" email spam filters I
>>>> played around with years ago. Or more generally, neural networks, I
>>>> suppose. In an odd twist where the brain ends up simulating a simulation of
>>>> a brain. When reviewing code, I often describe it in terms of feelings or
>>>> odd sensations that something is out of place, even if I can't quite
>>>> identify the specific offense. Fortunately, with more analysis, the
>>>> true/objective cause usually becomes clear.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Kevin Smith
>>>> Agile Coach, Wikimedia Foundation
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 5:48 PM, Arthur Richards <
>>>> arichards at wikimedia.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Thanks for sharing this Max, sounds like an interesting few sessions.
>>>>> Would love to hear more about 'the sorting hat'!
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 6:09 AM Max Binder <mbinder at wikimedia.org>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I recently attended a "pre-conference" to Agile Open California. I
>>>>>> wrote up my experience and posted it on the Team Practices Group MediaWiki
>>>>>> page:
>>>>>> https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Team_Practices_Group/Agile_Games_West
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> teampractices mailing list
>>>>>> teampractices at lists.wikimedia.org
>>>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/teampractices
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> teampractices mailing list
>>>>> teampractices at lists.wikimedia.org
>>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/teampractices
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> teampractices mailing list
>>>> teampractices at lists.wikimedia.org
>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/teampractices
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> teampractices mailing list
>>> teampractices at lists.wikimedia.org
>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/teampractices
>>>
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> teampractices mailing list
>> teampractices at lists.wikimedia.org
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/teampractices
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> teampractices mailing list
> teampractices at lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/teampractices
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/teampractices/attachments/20161129/3ce8b75c/attachment-0001.html>