The Golf Ball Tossing Game (to Limit WIP)

Marco Bresciani

v. 1.1.1

Introduction

● The Golf Ball Tossing Game (to Limit WIP) is an idea of a possible Agile / Lean game that would show how limiting WIP can help the flow.

● The idea came to me while reading two things:

– the web page about Multitasking Name Game (see http://tr.im/5rlcc);

– the book Personal Kanban by Benson, Jim & DeMaria Barry, Tonianne (see http://tr.im/5rlcj).

● Let's see how it works... (something like http://tr.im/5rlcq, with two players only).

Things Needed to Play

● A launcher (possibly you, leaving the attendands playing the catchers);

● One or more catchers (session attendands);

● A dozen golf balls or something with similar size and weight;

● At least 2m (6,562ft) of free space for tossing.

● The goal: the catcher shall not let balls falling on the floor. Balls can be kept in hand, put on a table, put on the floor, … they must not fall!

How to Play

● One catcher at a time: the launcher underhand tosses 1 ball 3-4 times to the catcher till the latter gets accustomed;

● The launcher then underhand tosses 2 balls in rapid sequence (say: when the first ball is in mid-air, tosses the second) to the catcher, again 3-4 times till the latter gets accustomed;

● The games proceeds with 3 then 4, 5, 6, … balls till the catcher is no more able to manage all the flying balls (e.g.: at least one ball fall on the floor in a sequence). The last whole number of balls that catcher manages, is the maximum WIP.

Play Scene

Image on the right Copyright © Vitathread.

See http://tr.im/5rlcy.

Game Aftermath (1)

● Up to the catcher to decide whether to stand or sit. The catcher also decides whether keeping all balls in hand during a sequence or put (part of) them on a table or on the lap, ...;

● Getting closer to maximum capacity, stress increases and impacts catching performance. As the sequence moves from three to four then five to six and seven to eight balls, thinking whether to keep all balls or when to put them on the table becomes a critical decision, with less and less time to act.

Game Aftermath (2)

● Keeping to toss at the maximum WIP (longest sequence) shows that catcher performs at high stress levels with higher error possibility;

● Limiting WIP allows to continuously perform with ease, acting in less critical conditions and with lower errors;

● Each catcher has its own WIP. A team of catchers may increase the maximum WIP by sharing responsibilities (turn-based catching of balls in a sequence).

Game Variants (and see how the WIP changes)

● Increase tossing distance;

● Increase tossing speed;

● Increase or decrease tossed ball/object size;

● Increase launchers number (tossing to the same catcher);

● Change (or mix) launching way from underhand tossing to baseball-like;

● … more?

History

● 2014-07-23 v. 1.1.1 (added game variant on tossing way; handmade ugly launch picture updated with transparency);

● 2014-07-21 v. 1.1.0 (swapped pages 4 and 5, this page added);

● 2014-07-16 v. 1.0.0, v. 1.0.1 (minor corrections).