Creating shared understanding with index cards

Slide 1: Creating Shared Understanding (with Index Cards) Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - p a s s i1 n e x c e l l e n c e a n d i n n o v a t i o n w i t h Slide o A Bit About Me Angela Martin 13 + Years Industry Experience (Past) Director of Agile Alliance PhD Candidate – A Grounded Theory on the Role of Customers in XP Projects Contact Details – e: angela@martinitconsulting.com – p: 07717 653 971 Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 2 Coming up … Why Shared Understanding? Introducing Cards – An exercise to introduce collaborative card play techniques – … and how they can improve a conversation Using Cards to Prioritize Using Cards to Create Models Using Cards in the Real-World Further Reading Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 3

Slide 2: Why Shared Understanding? In the fable of the blind men and the elephant; each of the blind men touches one part of the elephant and develops a perception of the elephant as a whole – One touches the side and perceives it to be like a wall – Another touches the tusk and perceives it to be like a spear – Another touches the tail and perceives it to be like a snake This fable provides an excellent analogy for the perceptions of each member of the customer community Real example: cervical cancer screening Adapted from a drawing by Luke Barrett, ThoughtWorks Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 4 Using Cards This exercise is divided into 2 parts In the first part we will use hidden notes; in the second part we will collaborate using visible cards Providing us with the opportunity to learn how to use cards and to compare and contrast the results Group set-up: – Divide into groups of four (aim to work with people who don’t know you very well) – Within your group, split into pairs for the first part of the exercise, you will swap pairs for the second part Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 5 Preparing For Your Conversation Pick a topic. Some suggested examples are: – 20+ facts about you Conversations – 20+ facts about your hobby about a “thing” – 20+ facts about a sports team – 20+ facts about your last holiday Conversations about an – 20+ facts about your current project experience – 20+ facts about a recent course Keep your topic private Brainstorm the things or “facts” you can cover about this topic (do this as an individual not with your pair) You have 2 minutes. Go! Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 6

Slide 3: The Conversation - Take One! When you are the speaker – Share all of the 20+ facts about your topic as a conversation (not just a recitation of facts!) – Do not refer to your preparation list(s) – Do not reveal the topic directly When you are the listener – Understand what the topic is AND retain all of the facts – You may not take any written notes during the conversation – It is a conversation, so you should ask questions and help the speaker to explore the topic You each have 10 minutes in total (5 minutes each as speaker). Your 10 minutes starts now. Go! Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 7 So, how did that work out? Think about the conversation where you were the listener – Write down what you think the topic was and as many facts as you can remember from the conversation. You have 2 minutes. Go! How well did your pair do? – Provide 50 points for getting the topic correct and 10 points for each correct fact; deduct 5 points for each incorrect fact. You have 60 seconds. Go! Lets take a moment to reflect how the conversation (and scoring) went. Swap Pairs. Go! Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 8 The Conversation - Take Two! When you are the speaker – Share all of the 20+ facts about your (original) topic as a conversation (not just a recitation of facts!) When you are the listener – Understand what the topic is AND all of the related facts – As before, it is a conversation, so you should ask questions and help the speaker to explore the topic Together, as a collaborative pair – Use cards to take shared notes: one point per card. Group similar cards together under heading cards (use a different color card for heading cards) You each have 10 minutes in total (5 minutes each as speaker). Your 10 minutes starts now. Go! Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 9

Slide 4: So, how did that work out? How well did your pair do? – Provide 50 points for getting the topic correct and 10 points for each correct fact; deduct 5 points for each incorrect fact. You have 60 seconds. Go! – … and the top scorer was … – Do the scores differ much? Lets take a moment to reflect how the conversation (and scoring) went between the two versions of this exercise. Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 10 Using Cards to Prioritize In your groups choose the model you’ll create in the next exercise. There are 6 options, see packs on table: – Web Banking [Process Model] – Web Banking [Domain Model] – DVD Rental [Process Model] – DVD Rental [Domain Model] – Dressing [Process Model] – Dog Show [Domain Model] You each have 2 gold stars (votes). Place your gold stars on the option you would like to do next: – You may use both stars on one card, or – You may spread your votes across two cards As a group decide which exercise you’ll do next (use the individual votes to help with that decision). You have 2 minutes. Go! Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 11 Using Cards to Model In this exercise we will use cards to help us create models during our conversation As a group, work with the cards to create a model of your selected topic. You have 10 minutes. Go! Lets take a moment to reflect how that worked, both the prioritization and modeling. Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 12

Slide 5: Using Cards in the Real-World We can use collaborative card play to increase shared understanding on our projects: – During planning activities – During retrospectives – During informal meetings to clarify points/issues/actions – … You can use cards to represent facts OR to create models like: – Domain models – Sequence models Use your imagination; find a way to make visible the invisible Adapted from a drawing by Luke Barrett, ThoughtWorks Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 13 Further Reading There are many important aspects to creating a shared understanding; we have only touched upon the surface. You might like to check-out: – Hohmann, Luke. Innovation Games: Creating breakthrough products through collaborative play. Addison-Wesley, 2006. – Gottesdiener, Ellen. Requirements by Collaboration: Workshops for defining needs. Addison-Wesley, 2002. Creating Shared Understanding with Cards - Slide 14