An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Stéphane Carré – Optima Consulting
Luxembourg
October 8, 2009

An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Goals of the exercise
● To understand software (product) development
by a small team:
● How people communicate
● How people create
● How people cooperate
● To experience (and discuss) elementary agile
techniques
● Playing a Collaborative Game with a Target
● Specifiers and Artists
08/10/2009 2 www.optimaconsulting.lu

An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Specifiers and Artists
● The specifiers will ask the artists to make a
drawing for them
● Organise into teams of 4 to 6 persons
● Split team into Specifiers and Artists
● There is chocolate for the winners...
08/10/2009 3 www.optimaconsulting.lu

An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Specifiers and Artists – Iteration 1
● A few (traditional?) communication rules...
● The specifiers WRITE instructions for the artists (no
drawing). One specifier passes messages between
the two groups. He may observe the artists but MAY
NOT SPEAK with them.
● The artists may WRITE messages back
● No speaking or exchanging drawings between
specifiers and artists
● No SMS or MMS ... (!)
● Timebox = 10 minutes in total
08/10/2009 4 www.optimaconsulting.lu

An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Specifiers and Artists – Pause
● Pause. Many development teams do not create
a way to change a process “on the fly”. We
need a way to evolve the process during the
execution of the project.
● Discuss and reflect
● What works? What does not work?
● Adjust your strategy for the next iteration
● What do we keep? What do we try?
● Use the Reflection Chart
08/10/2009 5 www.optimaconsulting.lu

An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Reflection Chart
Keep These Try These
Ongoing problems
What worked? What might you try next time?
08/10/2009 6 www.optimaconsulting.lu

An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Specifiers and Artists – Iteration 2
● Using an incremental approach
● Same rules as before, but...
● The specifiers describe ONLY ONE shape
● The artists send their drawing to the specifier for
review
● The specifiers decide to ask for corrections or to
continue with the next shape
● Timebox = 10 minutes in total
08/10/2009 7 www.optimaconsulting.lu

An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Specifiers and Artists – Pause
● Assume that there will be only 1 Specifier for
the next iteration
● Prepare the best implementation strategy, e.g. :
● Sit together
● Speak face-to-face
● Share intermediate results
08/10/2009 8 www.optimaconsulting.lu

An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Specifiers and Artists – Iteration 3
● Using an agile approach
● The specifier looks at the example drawing and
memorises it
● The specifier, WITHOUT DRAWING, communicates
as precisely as possible with the rest of the team
● The specifier (customer) is part of the artist
(development) team
● Clarifying needs
● Providing permanent feedback
● Timebox = 8 minutes in total
08/10/2009 9 www.optimaconsulting.lu

An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Wrap-up
● You have just seen a cooperative game of
invention and communication in action
● You have experienced elementary agile
techniques:
● Iterative development with process feedback
● Incremental delivery with product feedback
● Sitting together, multi-modal communication
08/10/2009 10 www.optimaconsulting.lu

An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Wrap-up
● Some of the things you may have noticed
● Distance hurts (so reduce it !)
● Multi-modal communication helps (sitting next to
each other)
● Communication has its limits
● We need feedback both on the process and product
● A process needs to allow for its own evolution
● Action and feedback reduce ambiguities
● Pause and reflect to get better
08/10/2009 11 www.optimaconsulting.lu

Luxembourg 2009
An experience of incommunicability
(and an introduction to agile techniques)
Thank you !
www.optimaconsulting.lu