Value Uncertainty Game

Our society spends many years training linear thinking. But linear thinking approaches can fail miserably when the world is uncertain. What can we do to help people learn how to manage in the presence of uncertainty?

In this highly engaging workshop attendees will experience estimating, planning and delivering a new product and product features. The uncertainty in value and costs will be resolved through rolling dice based on the stories that the team selects and prioritizes. The teams will run through 3 iterations of story cost, value estimation, and product feature delivery. Points will be scored for delivering product features and meeting release and iteration commitments.

The simulation aims to have levels of uncertainty in value and delivery that are commensurate with those found in software development. Attendees will come away with a better understanding of the challenges of working with uncertainty in software projects, and learn that some very popular approaches used in managing software projects may have counterproductive results.

Learning Outcomes

Attendees will experience firsthand through the simulation and come away with a better understanding of the challenges of working with uncertainty in software projects. They will also see the impact of release and iteration commitments and how they influence decisions and behaviors. Through the experience they will learn some of the tools that are at their disposal for managing this uncertainty.