Facilitator’s Guide

1. Hello Facilitator Thank you for your interest in the getKanban Board Game! Before facilitating the game with a group you should read through this guide, decide which mode you will play, then download and read the Game Instructions slide deck for the mode you have chosen. You should also read the printed Game Instructions booklet that comes with the game kit, familiarize yourself with the physical components of the game, and run through the game by yourself. The instructions are very prescriptive to avoid ambiguity as you are starting out. If you facilitate the game often, you may wish to modify the startup procedure and rules to your own taste. This slide deck and the Game Instructions decks are available for download from www.getKanban.com. Feel free to modify and print this deck for your own use. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need any assistance with the game, or to make suggestions for improvement. Kind regards Russell Healy Principal Consultant getKanban Limited Wellington, New Zealand russell.healy@getkanban.com Facilitator’s Guide • Facilitator’s Guide • Facilitator’s Guide Contents • Modes of play and game duration • What to expect in each mode • Teams • Approach • Caveats and errata • Game kit contents

2. Modes of play and game duration • Facilitator’s Guide • The game can be played in one of three modes: Advanced, Standard, or Quick Play. • Advanced mode is highly recommended, unless you are too time-constrained to play it. Due to the longer game-play in Advanced mode, the metrics collected are much more interesting and provide an excellent basis for further training. Advanced mode is not more difficult to play than the other modes, it just introduces more advanced concepts. • Quick Play • Quick Play mode is designed to be played in 60 – 90 minutes, so is suitable for an evening community event, or similar. It runs for seven simulated days from Day 9 through Day 15. Only one chart is tracked, lead time data is not collected, WIP limits may not be adjusted, and many learning points are skipped over. • Standard • Standard mode is designed to be played in approximately two hours. It runs for ten simulated days from Day 9 through Day 18. All of the charts are tracked, lead time is collected, and the concept of class of service is introduced. WIP limits may not be adjusted and there is less opportunity for reflection and discussion during the game. The strategies used do not have time to play out as they do in Advanced mode. • Allow approximately: • 30 minutes for game instructions • 60 – 90 minutes for game play • 30+ minutes for optional debrief and discussion • Advanced • Advanced mode is recommended. It is designed to be played for a minimum of two and a half hours. It runs for sixteen simulated days from Day 9 through Day 24. More advanced concepts are introduced, and winning and losing strategies make themselves much more evident in the final stages of the game. WIP limits may be adjusted, and there are more opportunities to analyze and discuss the impact of events, and other aspects of the game. • Allow approximately: • 30 minutes for game instructions • 120 – 180 minutes for game play • 30 – 60+ minutes for optional debrief and discussion • Mode Indicators • Several components of the game have mode indicators: A mode indicator indicates that the component, or instruction is only to be used in that mode of play. If there is no mode indicator, the component or instruction is used in all modes. Slide Decks Slide decks for each mode, as well as Apple Keynote versions, can be found at www.getkanban.com Quick Play Standard Advanced

3. What to expect in each mode • Facilitator’s Guide Real examples of all of the charts tracked in each mode are provided here to assist you to decide which mode to play. Because of the longer duration of Advanced mode, there are more events, more data is collected, and the charts are much more interesting than the other modes. The charts for Quick Play and Standard modes have less information to draw on in debrief and discussion (especially the Standard mode Control Chart). Take this into account when deciding which mode to play. Advanced mode is recommended if time allows. CFD No Control Chart in QP mode Control Chart Lead Time Distribution Chart No Lead Time Distribution Chart in QP mode

4. Teams • Facilitator’s Guide The game is designed to be played by a team of people. It involves constant decision making, and can sometimes suffer from lengthy analysis. To counter this, it is best when multiple teams play at the same time. You can enhance the competition by either offering a bonus for the first team to finish (as described in the Game Instructions slides) or by setting a fixed time at which game play must stop. The ideal team size is about six players. In Advanced and Standard modes, there are five specific roles that some players will take. In Quick Play mode there are three specific roles. These roles require the attention of the people playing them, so it is good to have additional players to operate the board. If there are less players than roles, players may take on multiple roles, or they may choose not to track some of the charts. Be careful not to have too many people on a team. If there are more than eight players per team, some people may disengage.

5. Approach • Facilitator’s Guide Set up kits Ensure that any dry-erase markings left on the board, charts, and tickets from previous games are removed. Set up the game kits as shown in the Game Instruction slides for the mode you chose to play. • As you step through Day 9, the teams learn the rules of the game in detail. This enables them to play the rest of the game without needing to ask a lot of questions. • Play the game • After you walk the teams through Day 9, they will play on their own. They should be able to play almost un-aided, though there will be some questions, so it is important that you understand the game fully before facilitating it. It is best if you have played it yourself first. • Facilitation tips • The Frequently Asked Questions section, provided on the same sheet as the Daily Steps guide has important information. . Make sure you are familiar with these, as they are likely to come up during the game. • Day 12 is the first time that teams play through the end of a billing cycle on their own. Pay close attention to ensure that they read and follow the Daily Steps guide accurately and in order. Make sure that when the Ready queue is replenished, tickets are pulled all the way through to Analysis in Progress. • Check regularly to make sure that the Day Ready and Day Deployed fields are updated on the tickets. • Full instructions for completing the charts are provided on the reverse of each chart. Make sure that you understand how each chart is tracked, since this is where teams need the most help, especially the CFD Tracker. Important: include only two (not four) green dice when setting up the game kits. The teams will request the third green die on Day 14 of the game, and may request the fourth on Day 19 in Advanced mode. Do not hand out the Expedite tickets, E1, E2, and E3. Do not hand out the Outcome cards. The teams will request these items during the game. Present instructions and Day 9 The Game Instruction slides contain a lot of animation and some long slide sequences. For the longer sequences an indicator is provided in the top right-hand corner to show you how far through the sequence you are. Eg: “4 of 8” indicates that you are 4 clicks through a sequence that is 8 clicks long. The Game Instructions include a facilitator-led walkthrough of Day 9. This is the most effective way to “boot up” the game. All of the decisions are made already, including the dice rolls, and which tickets to pull in. This enables you to compare the teams’ boards at the end of Day 9 with the illustrations provided in the slides, to confirm that the teams have played correctly.

6. Approach • Facilitator’s Guide • When ticket I2 is deployed, players may ask which tickets the outcome is applied to. The answer is: all tickets in the whole game with any test work remaining. This includes tickets still in the backlog, and any tickets that have not finished Testing. This answer is not provided in the Frequently Asked Questions (because the answer should be unknown before the ticket is deployed). • The Expedite Lane • As described on the board, the Expedite Lane may be used for white Expedite tickets, or for orange Fixed Delivery Date tickets if they are due in less than three days. There is a WIP limit of one on the Expedite Lane (unless the WIP limit has been changed in Advanced mode after Day 12). This means that, in addition to the tickets allowed in the main swim lane on the board, there may be only one ticket in the Expedite Lane at any time. • It is possible that a Fixed Delivery Date ticket may be in the Expedite Lane when a new Expedite ticket is raised. There is no rule that dictates what the team should do in a situation like this, and it may be a good opportunity to discuss options and implications. However in the interests of time, you may want to be prepared to direct the teams to take a specific course of action, and bring up the matter in the game debrief. • One option is to demote one of the tickets to the main swim lane, another is to delay starting the second ticket until the first is complete. A third option is to refuse the new ticket. Each of these options would have consequences in the real world. Testing backlog after Carlos’ policies have been revoked Once Carlos is fired and his policies are revoked, it is likely that his policies have created a backlog of work in the Test column which has exceeded the Test WIP limit. Again, there is no specific rule to deal with this situation. A reasonable approach is to keep the tickets in the Test column, but not pull any further tickets in until there is capacity to do so, and to allow the Expedite Lane to operate as usual. End of game and debrief Be sure to take photos of the charts and financial summary sheets at the end of the game. There is a debrief section at the end of the slide deck. It is long, so don’t try to cover everything. You might want to choose your favorite questions beforehand, and perhaps add some of your own. Clean off dry-erase Be sure to clean all dry-erase markings from the boards, charts, and tickets. The last Event Card of the game asks the teams to do this for you. These items are dry-erase treated, and designed to be written on, but when markings are left to dry they become difficult to remove. Old markings may be removed with white-board cleaner and a cloth if necessary, but this may shorten the life of the board if done repeatedly.

7. Caveats and Errata • Facilitator’s Guide • Caveats • The Kanban board used is an example board, not “the definitive Kanban board.” Each Kanban system should be designed for the context within which it is being used, and should evolve and improve over time. • The game uses resource allocation exclusively to address bottlenecks. This is to keep the game simple yet maintain tension in the process. In reality, flow problems will need to be analyzed for root cause and addressed appropriately in the specific context. For example, it may be that quality at an upstream station is poor, and needs to be addressed. • The real power of Kanban is that it makes impediments to flow visible, enabling us to do something about them. Without this appreciation, there is a risk that people understand the mechanism, but limit the value they gain from it. • The activities of rolling dice, striking off work, tracking charts etc are overhead that does not exist when using Kanban in real work. There are software tools available, and we don’t usually roll dice to get our jobs done! • Kanban does not require that work remaining on individual items is burned down (as it is on the stories in the game) or reported, neither does it stop you doing this. • Errata • The Contents Card refers to “Rules & Daily Steps” when it should refer to “Daily Steps and FAQ” and to a “Clear Tote Bag” when it should refer to a “Clear Cinch Bag”. It does not mention the Game Instructions booklets provided.

8. Game kit contents • Facilitator’s Guide One game kit includes one document sleeve, one clear cinch bag, and one cotton bag, each with contents. A carry bag is provided, and may contain multiple kits.

9. Game kit contents • Facilitator’s Guide The document sleeve contains two instruction booklets, and one of each of the following: “W” fold game board, Daily Steps guide and FAQ, Cumulative Flow Diagram, Control Chart, Lead Time Distribution Chart, Financial Summary sheet. The game board has a “W” fold, in that the center and left and right edges are raised to fold it.

10. Game kit contents • Facilitator’s Guide • The clear cinch bag contains: • 7 pale yellow Quick Play Event Cards • 10 green Standard Event Cards • 16 blue Advanced Event Cards • 1 Contents Card • 40 tickets: S1 – S36, F1, F2, I1, I2 • Dry-erase markers: 6 black, 2 purple,1 brown, 1 orange, 1 green, 1 red, 1blue • Pink blocker stickies • Blue Defect Description stickies • Blue Defect Fix stickies • Dice: 1 pink, 2 red, 3 blue, 2 green • 6 cloths

11. Game kit contents • Facilitator’s Guide • The white cotton bag contains: • 2 green dice • 3 white tickets: E1, E2, E3 • 3 white Outcome cards: E1, E2, E3 • 2 purple Outcome cards: I1, I2