I like the simplicity of the Coin flip game to explain the advantages of Batch size reduction in Agile projects.
You can play it in person and online. I came across the game in the “Agile Spiele und Simulationen” book.
We played it like this. We got 10 coins. We had 4 glasses placed on a table. We had the players flip the coins, move it to the second glass opposite, walk over, and start again till they reached the fourth glass. By the end of the game, people had gone around the table multiple times. The discussion after moving around 10, 5 and 1 batches were interesting.
We noticed three advantages namely:
- Faster feedback loop
- Improved risk management
- Flexibility and Adaptability
What is your batch size on your Agile projects?
Here are some links about the Coin flip game and Batch size reduction:
Batch, Agile and Value: Aglie games – the coin game | Blog | johnLeighton.me.uk | Agile, Delivery Lead, Scrum Master
Online variant with Agile Coach: Principles-Coin-Flip-Game.jpg (1065×938) (wp.com)
Interesting article with nice illustrations: Understanding Lean product development: Batch Size, Work in Process (WIP) & Risk | by William Belk | The Agile Weekly | Medium
