Team Member Tutor's Notes

This page needs lots of work :-)

One common principle to demonstrate is the concept of self-organizing teams. Here are two simple exercises to demonstrate this concept. The first works with larger groups (8+ people), the second works for smaller groups.

Self-Organizing Teams Exercise - Large Groups

1. Line up according to three questions: - How long have you worked at your current position? - How familiar are you with agile methods? - How recently was the most recent major change in your life?

2. Debrief: - What role did I (the tutor) play in this exercise? - Would it have been faster if I had directed each person to their proper place? - What is the critical activity necessary for effective self-organization? (Communication)

Self-Organizing Teams Exercise - Small Groups (2-8 people)

Materials: a deck of cards (e.g. planning poker cards)

1. Build a house of cards one level high (one card high) - must use at least 6 cards. (5 minutes) 2. Build a house of cards two levels high - any number of cards (10 minutes) 3. Build a house of cards three levels high - any number of cards (15 minutes)

4. Debrief: - what did you observe as you were doing this exercise - would it have been faster if I had directed each person on exactly how to handle and place each card? - What is the critical activity necessary for effective self-organization? (Communication)