Between them, Elisabeth Hendrickson and Dale Emery have run Elisabeth's Agile transition simulation, WordCount, well over 100 times.
In the simulation, participants work for a fictional company, WordCount, Inc., creating a system for counting words. Everyone chooses a role, whether Product Manager, Tester, Developer, Interoffice Mail Courier, or Observer. When the simulation begins, participants follow a pre-defined process that resembles a very traditional organization with groups working in silos. Throughout the simulation, participants pause to reflect and adapt, changing their process to improve agility.
Although it's just a simulation, teams that go through WordCount experience the same kinds of issues that teams experience in Agile transitions in the real world. This ebook walks through the WordCount simulation, explores what makes some teams succeed while others flounder, and offers lessons learned about Agile transitions that transcend the bounds of the simulation.
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