This is a slightly updated presentation...

1. Understanding How Collaboration
Improves Productivity
Paul Boos

2. Agenda
• Learn the rules and execute the Power of 13
Collaboration Game through several 'scenarios’
• Compare and debrief the results
• Discuss and post the highlights of learning
• Compare experience to various models used to
describe team dynamics and communication
• What can you do to improve collaboration
• Discuss how participants will use the game
• Describe possible extensions and how this game has
been used by the facilitator/co-facilitators

3. Collaboration:
Power of 13
Simulation
This game was created at Agile Games 2014 by –
Jamie Gaull
Robert Smith
Peter Barzdines
Bobby Zhakov
Paul Boos

4. Power of 13
Goal:
Work off the the number of cards equal to the number of people
within your iteration’s length
Mechanics:
• We need a ‘Scrum Master’ and ‘Product Owner’ – everyone
else is a development team member
• Each card is worked off whenever a 13 is rolled on 3 dice
(~10% chance per roll)
• The product owner will count off the number of cards
completed using a deck of cards
• The scrum master will use another suit of cards to count down
your iteration of 13 work days (3 week Sprints, the other two
days are sprint review, retro, and planning = 15 days)
• We will mark down what day you meet your goal and the
total # of cards worked off

5. Power of 13 :: Round 1
This round will simulate developers working alone in
their silos/cubes
• Each developer is responsible for completing a
card from the backlog
• Each developer rolls the dice once per day; the
scrum master keeps track of the 13 work days
using the suit of cards he or she has
• If a dice roll has a sum total of exactly ‘13’, they
state “my card is DONE.” The product owner turns
this card over from his stack. The developer stops
work and pats himself on the back.
• Record cards completed as each person says
they are ‘DONE’; also record what day the
required # of stories was completed.

6. Power of 13 :: Round 2
This round will simulate pulling additional work after you
complete work
• The team is still responsible for completing at least
the a number of cards from the backlog equal to
the number of developers
• Each developer rolls the dice once per day; the
scrum master keeps track of the 13 work days using
the suit of cards he or she has
• If a dice roll has a sum total of exactly ‘13’, they
state “my card is DONE.” The product owner turns
this card over from his stack. The developer pats
himself on the back; however they may now
continue to roll on subsequent days and declare
another card done for each ‘13’ they roll.
• Record cards that were completed and what day
the required # of stories was completed.

7. Power of 13 :: Round 3
• This round simulates collaborative pairing to
complete work
• The team is still responsible for completing at least
the a number of cards from the backlog equal to
the number of developers
• Each developer rolls the dice once per day; the
scrum master keeps track of the 13 work days
using the suit of cards he or she has
• Once each developer has rolled, they work
together in pairs (or triads for an odd numbered
group) to pull as many sums of exactly ‘13’ on 3
dice as possible; each ’13’ identified equals a
card worked.
• Record cards that were completed and what
day the required # of stories was completed.

8. Power of 13 :: Round 4
• This round simulates collaborative swarming to
complete work
• The team is still responsible for completing at least
the a number of cards from the backlog equal to
the number of developers
• Each developer rolls the dice once per day; the
scrum master keeps track of the 13 work days using
the suit of cards he or she has
• Once each developer has rolled and placed the
dice into a common pool, they work together to
pull as many sums of exactly ‘13’ on 3 dice as
possible; each ’13’ identified equals a card
worked. The product owner turns these cards over
from his stack.
• Record cards that were completed and what day
the required # of stories was completed.

9. Collaboration:
Power of 13
Simulation
Debrief
For the next 3 minutes, write down learning points
or observations you had from playing the game.
Write one item per sticky.
Then over the next 5 minutes discuss at your table
to find the common learning points or observations
people feel were seen. We’ll share these.
Part 1

10. Collaboration:
Power of 13
Simulation
Debrief
What did you notice happening?
What did the dice/rolls represent?
How did the effectiveness change in each round?
How does or does not this correlate
with how real work happens?
How did the coordination
in the last round feel?
What did allowing a person
to continue work simulate?
Part 2

11. Let’s Look at Some Models
Important to Understanding
Group Dynamics
Remember: All models are wrong
and some are useful!

12. Group Communications
Patterns
Linear
Hub
&
Spoke
Network

13. Network Pattern: as Nodes
Grow, Maintaining the Network
Itself Grows
Communications Paths = N(N-1)/2
where N = number of people (as nodes in the graph).
Realistically, this limits the amount of productive two-way
communication.
How so..?

14. Some Interesting Data…
Based on -
log(N) = 0.093 + 3.389 log(CR) (1) (r2=0.764, t34=10.35, p<0.001)
This equation places the upper limit of how many people with
which we can regularly communicate and maintain stable
relationships (aka social grooming) based on neocortex size.
150
Based on –
Tribal Reciprocity; the limit on the number of people that will
give with an expectation they will receive in kind.
50
Based on –
The lower limit of short term memory limit for bits of information
used in judgement; we can retain only about 7±2 items in
memory.
This limits the number of people with which we can have deep
communication.
5
Evolutionary
Psychology
Cultural
Anthropology
Cognitive
Psychology

15. Team Performance Predictors
ENERGY
“…when someone announces a new discovery in the same group,
excitement and energy skyrocket as all the members start talking to
one another at once.”
ENGAGEMENT
“all members of a team have relatively equal and reasonably high
energy with all other members, engagement is extremely strong. Teams
that have clusters of members who engage in high-energy
communication while other members do not participate don’t perform
as well.”
EXPLORATION
“…seek more outside connections…”

16. Communications Patterns
Predict Successful Teams
Successful Teams:
1. Everyone on the team talks and listens in roughly equal measure,
keeping contributions short and sweet.
2. Members face one another, and their conversations and gestures
are energetic.
3. Members connect directly with one another—not just with the
team leader.
4. Members carry on back-channel or side conversations within the
team.
5. Members periodically break, go exploring outside the team, and
bring information back.

17. Sociometric Measurement of
Team Communications

18. The Johari Window
Known to Self Unknown to Self
KnowntoOthersUnknowntoOthers
OPEN
AREA
BLIND
AREA
HIDDEN
AREA
UNKNOWN
AREA

19. The Johari Window
Known to Self Unknown to Self
KnowntoOthersUnknowntoOthers
FEEDBACK
DISCLOSURE
SHARED
DISCOVERY
OPEN
AREA
BLIND
AREA
HIDDEN
AREA
UNKNOWN
AREA

20. The Johari Window
Known to Self Unknown to Self
KnowntoOthersUnknowntoOthers
TELL
ASK
FEEDBACK
DISCLOSURE
SHARED
DISCOVERY
OPEN
AREA
BLIND
AREA
HIDDEN
AREA
UNKNOWN
AREA

21. The Johari Window
Known to Self Unknown to Self
KnowntoOthersUnknowntoOthers
TELL
ASK
FEEDBACK
DISCLOSURE
SHARED
DISCOVERY
OPEN
AREA
BLIND
AREA
HIDDEN
AREA
UNKNOWN
AREA
Anyone have a 4?
I have
a 4!

22. Information Transfer Occurs Both
Explicitly and Tacitly
Tacit transfer builds trust
Explicit transfer creates artifacts
Focusing = (Heads-Down) Work Alone
Collaboration = f( [WorkF])
Learning = Building Knowledge with Explicit Thinking
Socializing = Building Trust + Building Knowledge  Innovation
Σ
n
1
Nonaka Model

23. More Data
“82% of white collar workers feel they need
to partner with others throughout the
workday to get work done”
Knowledge Work = Social Activity

24. Tuckman Stages of Group
Development
FocusonWork
Relationship/Trust
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing

25. Tuckman Stages of Group
Development
FocusonWork
Relationship/Trust
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
First day or
two…

26. Tuckman Stages of Group
Development
FocusonWork
Relationship/Trust
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Days 2-3 to 5-
7…

27. Tuckman Stages of Group
Development
FocusonWork
Relationship/Trust
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Days 5-7 to 8-
9…

28. Tuckman Stages of Group
Development
FocusonWork
Relationship/Trust
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Days 8-9
on…

29. As a Team Forms, Only Explicit
Info Is Known
People know about you some,
perhaps you tell them a few
things.
People will focus on
performing their own work
(utilizing what they know
tacitly about themselves)
and sharing information only
explicitly.

30. Next is Storming; People Still
Share Explicitly
People still know only what
you have revealed and they
are unlikely to give you
feedback, so your Blind Area
remains that way – Blind.
People lose some focus on
performing their own work,
but collaboration suffers
more.

31. On to Norming! Now Things
Begin to Get Cooking
As norming occurs, people
begin to reveal more
information and ask questions
so they know more how they
fit in. These help build the trust
and relationships.
Focus and collaboration
come back and learning
starts happening as
informal settings begin to
take hold.

32. Performing; People Share Informally
and Comfortably Frequently
More and more information is
shared about each other,
leading to greater and
greater trust, increasing the
ability to get more done.
Informal settings (casual
discussions, greater sharing
of mental models, higher
use of shared metaphors,
etc.) takes place. The
amount of information
transferred regularly is
enormous.

33. That was interesting, what
should we do with it...?
We’re going to look at this from 3
different viewpoints:
• Team Member
• Leader
• Influencer

34. Team Member
Has a need to be bound to social
achievement of a common goal
• Forming sets the goal, but shared
understanding of it may be missing
• Storming is a natural progression, but progress
deteriorates – we want to progress through
this stage quickly
• Norming is where the shared understanding
for the social achievement is created
• Performing is where this shared
understanding is used effectively

35. Improving Teamwork
• Increasing the Open Area increases trust
– Disclose information about yourself willingly
– Request feedback to receive it
– Establish working agreements and project
charters (explicit transfer) to help establish
the metaphors, shared understanding, and
casualness that is acceptable (tacit transfer)
• And as we saw, increasing trust, increases
work focus  productivity
Only focusing on the goal misses the need for also
having the good relationships needed to produce.

36. The Leader
Has a need to accomplish goals through
others AND are only indirectly involved in
the social achievement
• Often they set the initial goal(s) and
environment in Forming
• During the remaining stages, they usually
only involve themselves when ‘needed’;
depending on how this is done, this may
impede performance through the social
achievement in progress

37. Supporting Teamwork
• Model the behavior needed to increase
the open Area
– Disclose what help teams can get from you
(and under what circumstances)
– Disclose pertinent vulnerabilities
– Ask for and graciously acknowledge
feedback (do this more than asking for info)
• Taken together these increase trust
because you aren’t just about them
achieving goals, but you are showing you
have both interest and empathy
Building good relationships with teams gives them
license to set the behaviors they need to produce.

38. Influencer
Has a need for the goal to be successful
but has no direct interest (or authority) in
the social achievement
• During Forming, often sets expectations
for performance needs tangential to the
first order team goal
• Often may be a trigger for deepening
lack of focus during Storming
• Usually consulted when a team attempts
to Norm
• Often ignored if a team is Performing
(Individual or External Stakeholder Group)

39. Encouraging Teamwork
• Increasing the Open Area increases trust with the teams
– Disclose information about yourself willingly (coaching role)
– Disclose what the relationship of your tangential goals to the
team’s and the help they can get from you for achieving
these (and under what circumstances)
– Establish working agreements specifically around a protocol
for interaction (explicit transfer) to help establish the
metaphors, shared understanding, and casualness that is
acceptable (tacit transfer) during all phases of the team’s
phases
– Ask for and graciously acknowledge feedback; particularly
on interventions you make to to help the team’s effectiveness
• Taken together these increase trust because you aren’t just
about them achieving goals to your tangential needs, but
you are showing you have interest in their success as well
Building good relationships with the team allows you
to influence their behaviors they need to produce.

40. Collaboration – What Helps &
Hinders
• Break into groups of ~5
• Create a list of items that promote
collaboration.
– What forces are at play that help people to
want to collaborate?
• Create a list of items that impede
collaboration.
– What forces are at work that hinder people
from wanting to collaborate?
• Assign a weight to each item from 1-5
• Timebox of 5 min
• Elect a spokesperson.

41. Promotes Impedes
Collaboration – Forcefield Analysis

42. Resources
Luft, Joseph; Ingham, Harrison (1955). "The Johari window, a graphic model of
interpersonal awareness". Proceedings of the western training laboratory in group
development (Los Angeles: UCLA)
Tuckman, Bruce (1965). "Developmental sequence in small groups".
Psychological Bulletin 63
Pentland, Alex "Sandy”(2012). “The New Science of Building Great Teams”.
Harvard Business Review, April 2012
Nonaka, Ikujiro; Hirotaka Takeuchi (1995). The Knowledge-Creating Company
(2008) “Inside Innovation,” Business Week, April 28, 2008
Steelcase WorkSpace Futures (2010). How The Workplace Can Improve
Collaboration, June 2010 Whitepaper on Supporting Collaboration
Spradley, Jonothan; McCurdy, David W. (2012). Conformity and Conflict:
Readings in Cultural Anthropology, Pearson Education
Miller, George A. (1956). The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some
Limits on our Capacity for Processing Information, Psychologicial Review 63
Dunbar, Robin I. M. (1992). “Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and
language in humans”, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Volume 16 Issue 04,
December 1993