What is it? This is a workshop exercise that you can use for ALMOST ANYTHING. It involves getting a few people in a room to define and solve challenges. It is a handful of practices you run with a group to identify pain points or problems to solve, to prioritize those problems, to ideate solutions to the most important problems, and to prioritize those solutions. Finally, you assign next steps for the team to take in order to run a solution experiment.

What is it? An exercise to promote good team practice for generating lots of quality ideas. Why use it? Often when presented with a new idea, or suggestion, our natural response is to critique that idea, to review, refine, or reject it. “Yes! And… " encourages people to accept the idea as it is, and build upon it. It can be reviewed, and refined later, and compared or combined with other ideas generated during the session.

What is it? The “Candy or Swag?” practice uses a game environment to reinforce critical open organization values like collaboration and transparency. The goal is to demonstrate how that, even in the simplest group scenarios, outcomes improve for everyone when members of self-organizing teams collaborate and hold each other accountable for results. Why use it? When new teams are forming, especially in traditional organizations with siloed legacies, there is a need to establish open organization values like collaboration and transparency.

What is it? A system diagram is a simple and very high level description of a system that exists or needs to be built. It is a simple diagram that can be drawn collaboratively in little time. It can help a team get a clear, complete, and common understanding of a system. The components of a system diagram are: The Purpose The System Boundary One or more Inputs One or more Outputs One or more Subsystems One or more Feedback Loops A picture of an example system diagram depicting a vending machine for train tickets Why use it?

What is it? This is a practice that looks to visually map out commonalities between members of the team or organization. It provides a map of how each person relates to one another. The goal of this practice is to create a spark for follow-on conversation between folks who may not have met before or deepen the relationship for those they have met. Why use it? When new teams are forming, or there is a need for a team to form better relationships with one another, this practice can provide an easy way to begin that journey.

What is it? Crazy 8’s is a core Design Sprint method. It is a fast sketching exercise that challenges people to sketch eight distinct ideas in eight minutes. The goal is to push beyond your first idea, frequently the least innovative, and to generate a wide variety of solutions to your challenge. Here’s a quick overview video:\ Why use it? This practice is a great way to ensure a product team is taking the time to prioritize user needs and generate enough solutions to needs to broaden the potential for finding the best idea.