This exercise was co-created as part of a collaboration day between myself and Paul Goddard
Timing:
30-45 minutes
Materials:
None
Instructions:
Ask the team to create a limerick to sum up the Sprint or perhaps even team values
- A limerick has 5 lines with a specific rhythm
- Line 1 rhymes with lines 2 and line 5
- Line 3 rhymes with line 4
For example:
A Scrum team can be very wise
Because they self organise
They’ll emerge the design
Along sensible lines
While making sure nobody fries
Or:
A FOCUSSED and fresh engineer
Had COURAGE to be a Scrum heir
“OPENNESS is” said he
“with COMMITMENT, the key”
“And RESPECT for colleagues is fair
Or:
A key to Scrum is the backlog
Without one the project’s a slog
Although you might jest
Dig DEEP and INVEST
To help you see through all the fog
Or:
A development team I once met
Had ran up great technical debt
Their code legacy history
Had become quite a mystery
But they applied Scrum and now do not fret
Or:
A development team who can’t estimate
I am sure will always be late
Those who correctly timebox
Make software that rocks
And all investments return a good rate
Or:
Quick, hurry up, go faster
This timebox it will not last-a
Oh you’re such a moaner
Said the Product Owner
It’s my job said our harried ScrumMaster
Learning Points:
- Just a bit of fun really
Variations:
- Try a less structured poetry format
- Or a song
- See if the team can build up a number of verses over the course of the project
- Agree some key concepts as a team first, then split up into smaller groups (pairs or triplets) and compare versions as a group.
- Set a small time box, read out what you have got so far, get some feedback and try a second iteration as you hear things from other pairs you might be able to incorporate into yours.
Certified Scrum Coach and CST in the UK and really interested in learning through play