On April 1, 2021, (no joke) I did an Agile 101 for Agile New England where we played the Agile Self-assessment Game online. The Agile Self-assessment Game: How Agile Are You? by Ben Linders The Agile Self-assessment Game is an Agile ” compass & map” to find out where you are and inspire you with ideas and suggestions on where to go next on your agile journey. It’s a cooperative card game to discover how agile you are and what you can do to increase your agility to deliver more value to their customers and stakeholders. In this session, Ben Linders explored how a game can enable people to pull in ideas for change and apply those in a way that best suits their collective needs. And we have played with the Agile self-assessment cards online. Ben Linders is an Independent Consultant in Agile, Lean, Quality, and Continuous Improvement. As an adviser, trainer, and coach, he helps organizations with effectively deploying software development and management practices. He focuses on continuous improvement, collaboration and communication, and professional development, to deliver business value to customers. Ben is an active member of networks on Agile, Lean, and Quality, and a well-known speaker and author. Creator of many Agile Coaching Tools, for example, the Agile Self-assessment Game.

1. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 1
Ben Linders Consulting
The Agile Self-assessment Game:
How Agile are You?
Agile New England, April 1, 2021
Ben Linders

2. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 2
Ben Linders Consulting
Trainer / Coach / Adviser / Author / Speaker
Agile, Lean, Quality & Continuous improvement
Freelance Editor for InfoQ.com
BenLinders.com
Books: Valuable Agile Retrospectives Problem? What Problem?
What Drives Quality Self-assessments Continuous Improvement
Games: Agile Self-assessment Game Retrospectives Bingo Impediments
Quality Coaching Cards Agile Testing Cards

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Ben Linders Consulting

4. benlinders.com - @BenLinders 4
Ben Linders Consulting
Imposing doesn’t work

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Ben Linders Consulting
Gamification
Applying principles and practices from
gaming in a non-gaming context
 Solving problems/challenges together,
 Share stories, travel journeys
 Progression or emerge structure
Enabling Improvement

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Ben Linders Consulting
What can gamification bring?
 People like to play games
 Encourage and involve people
 Provide different perspectives
 Stimulate collaboration
 Build relationships
 Visualize what’s happening
 Establish safety to fail and learn

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Ben Linders Consulting
Agile Self-assessments
Self-assess to improve
 Discuss & Learn
 Engage & Involve
 Experiment
 Take action
Agile journey
Checklists Game

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Ben Linders Consulting
Agile Self-assessment Game
Started as Agile Coaching Cards
Many game formats/exercises
Expansion Packs for Scrum, DevOps, …
Book: Exercises & Experience Stories
Testing, Quality, Psychological Safety
Kanban
Scrum
Business
DevOps Agile

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Ben Linders Consulting
Playing Suggestions
Playing suggestions:
• Basic Game
• Variants on the Game
• Invest in Agile
• Sailboat Retrospective
• First things First
• Deep Thought
• Best Agile Practice
• Sketching Agile Journey
• Health Check
benlinders.com/game/
Scrum
DevOps
Kanban
Business
Agile

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Ben Linders Consulting
Playing onsite

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Ben Linders Consulting
Online health self-assessment

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Ben Linders Consulting
First Things First

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Ben Linders Consulting
Key Takeaways
 Don't impose change on people, it doesn’t work
 Self-organization implies that teams should assess how
they are doing and take responsibility for improvement
 Gamification provides a safe-to-fail environment where
teams can explore, experiment, and learn
 You can engage and empower people by supporting
them with agile self-assessments

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Ben Linders Consulting
Links
Game - Book & cards benlinders.com/shop/the-agile-self-assessment-game/
Raffle (valid until April 11):
Two free copies of the ebook & cards: Coupon “AgileNewEngland-Free” Gone!
25% discount on the ebook & cards: Coupon “AgileNewEngland-Discount”
Game Information benlinders.com/game/
Agile Coaching Tools benlinders.com/downloads/
Agile Self-assessments benlinders.com/tools/agile-self-assessments/

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Ben Linders Consulting
Questions?
Questions?
Ben Linders
Trainer / Coach / Adviser / Author / Speaker
Agile, Lean, Quality & Continuous Improvement
Feedback: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NV5SSXY
info@BenLinders.com
info@BenLinders.com
@BenLinders
www.linkedin.com/in/benlinders
www.linkedin.com/in/benlinders
www.facebook.com/BenLindersAdvies
www.facebook.com/BenLindersAdvies
www.benlinders.com
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