games for process and product improvement
TRANSCRIPT
Resources 2
Innovation Games® : A set games, developed by Luke Hohmann. These games range
are aimed at a wide variety of business problems. Games are available for inperson and online use.
Gamestorming: Collaborative play, initiated by Sunny Brown, David Gray. More games ― collection of “traditional games”, and not limited to
a certain business field.
What will you get out of this session?
1. Ability to select, plan, play and process the results of Innovation Games®
2. Identify games you can use to do serious work with speed and creativity.
3. Have a plan of action for games you can’t wait to try out
4. Have fun!!!!
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What Makes Innovation Games® Unique
Game playing provides a relaxed, less rigid environment and increases creativity
Leverages research from cognitive psychology and organizational behavior
The Games utilize verbal, written, visual and non-verbal forms of communication thereby providing greater volumes of information
Some games provide wonderful player artwork which can be retained and shared with others
The Games have many uses, including strategic planning, sales effectiveness, product road mapping and customer relationship building
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“The best games have four elements...”*6
Games
Clear Goals
Rules
Rapid Feedback
Voluntary Experienc
e
*Jane McGonigal, Reality is Broken
920/20 Vision
Activity:When you’re getting fitted for glasses, your optometrist will often ask you to compare between two potential lenses by alternately showing each of them.
Start by writing one feature each on large index cards. Shuffle the pile and put them face down. Take the first one form the top and put it on the wall. Take the next one and ask your customers if it is more or less important than the one on the wall. Place it above or below, depending on its relative importance. Repeat this with all of your feature cards.
Goal:Prioritize features
1020/20
Pick the game facilitator Hand out features and benefit cards
(around 10)Compare and positionFacilitator probe for why if not
explicitly stated, especially if there is disagreement
11Tips: 20/20
The stated goal of the game is to rank orderUse physical placement of cards (“here, or
here” starting from the bottom and going up)The real goal of the game is to find out why
people prioritize something over another.The gold” is in the argument.This may make the game feel less fun and
players may whine (that’s good!)Make sure you have an observer Challenge them to convince each other
Speed Boat
Goal:Identify what customers don’t like (about your product, process, system, idea)
Process Improvement Activity:
Draw a boat on a whiteboard or sheet of butcher paper. You’d like the boat to really move fast. Unfortunately, the boat has a few anchors holding it back. The boat is your system, and the features that your customers don’t like are its anchors.
Players write what they don’t like on an anchor. They can also estimate how much faster the boat would go when that anchor was cut. Estimates of speed are really estimates of pain.
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Exercise: Speed Boat
How to play:Define A and B. Draw a boat (any kind) going from A to B
◦We want to get to B as fast as we canAdd Anchors (one per Post-it®) for what holds
us back◦ The deeper the anchor, the bigger the drag
Add Accelerators (one per Post-it®) for helps what helps us get to the goal faster
Think about the current pieces of your process. What is weighing you down?
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Tips: Speed Boat
People always complain• It can turn into an avalanche of complaints or• It can be mined for gold
Speed boat provides a safe environment – a metaphor
• Allows group discussion, collaboration, experimentation
• Doesn’t require verbal explanation• Unveils genuinely important issues• Anchors may help quantify the impact• Propellers can really help to make this a positive
experience.
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Debrief: Speed Boat
Facilitator reviews, but does not solve problems◦ Review every anchor, emphasize their feedback
matters◦ Never say “That’s easy” or “That’s impossible”◦ Explore the motivation/emotion (5 why’s)◦ Take a picture as spatial arrangement has meaning
Hear from multiple people in the group about what is most important to them
Ask people to tell stories about ways they have dropped similar anchors in the past
Ask questions in the positive, “what is going to make the boat go really fast?”
Understand the placement of the anchors, check that people understand the impact of depth
Pay attention to what is at the destination – what’s so great about getting there faster?
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Product Box 16
Activity:Ask your customers to imagine that they’re selling your product at a tradeshow, retail outlet, or public market. Give them a few cardboard boxes and ask them to literally design a product box that they would buy. The box should have the key marketing slogans that they find interesting. When finished, pretend that you’re a skeptical prospect and ask your customer to use their box to sell your product to you.
Goal:Identify the most exciting, sellable features
Elevator Pitch
An elevator pitch is a short summary used to quickly and simply define a product, service, or organization and its value proposition
The name “elevator pitch” reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes
An elevator pitch should sum up the unique aspects of your service or product in a way that excites others
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Tips: Product Box
Leverage your customers’ collective retail consumer experience
Show samples and review package design◦ Different kids of cereal boxes
Customers design a box THEY want◦ Something that will solve their problems◦ Tap into their deep needs
The act of selling focuses on benefits, not features. So observers are key.
Watch interaction between customers during presentation
Provide paper to have them make sketches, save it! Limit time on selling, make it a game Process results
◦ Benefits, features, slogans, labels, colors◦ Map to current product
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Buy a Feature 20
Activity:• Create a list of features with an
estimated cost. The cost can be development effort or actual cost you intend to charge for the feature. Customers buy features that they want.
• Features are priced high enough that no single customer can buy the features. This helps motivate customers to negotiate between themselves as to which features are most important. Observation of this negotiation provides great insight into what customers are willing to pay for.
Goal:Prioritize features
Tips: Buy A Feature
“Product manager” creates the feature list and sets price ◦Price represents development cost, customer value,
time, opportunity cost◦ Individual features mostly priced too high for one
customer to buyCustomers collectively have 40-60% money needed to
buy all the features◦14-30 features◦This game can take the longest to get the descriptions
rightCustomers must pool their money in order to buy Customers want it all: We hand prioritization over to the
customerMagic: customers are negotiating with each other Group customers by similar operating characteristics
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