Speedboat
The Speedboat game is a collaborative elicitation technique used to identify obstacles and challenges that are impeding progress or affecting performance. In this visual and interactive exercise, the "speedboat" represents a project, product, or process that stakeholders and team members wish to improve. The "anchors" represent the issues or problems that are holding it back from reaching its full potential.
Key Components
Visual Board: Typically a whiteboard or flipchart depicting a speedboat and multiple anchors.
Facilitator: Someone to guide the session, clarify rules, and ensure objectives are met.
Participants: Team members, stakeholders, and others who are interested or impacted by the area under discussion.
Markers, Sticky Notes: Used by participants to write down and visually place their anchors on the board.
Timebox: The session is usually time-constrained to ensure focus.
How It Works
Introduction and Context: The facilitator sets the stage by explaining the metaphor of the speedboat and anchors. The goal of identifying what is holding the "boat" back is clarified.
Identify Anchors: Participants are given a set amount of time to write down the issues, problems, or challenges they perceive as anchors on sticky notes.
Place Anchors: Participants come up and place their sticky notes on the board, each representing an anchor tied to the speedboat.
Discussion: Participants explain their anchors, and a facilitator-led discussion follows to explore each anchor in depth. Similar anchors can be grouped together.
Prioritize and Analyze: The team collaboratively prioritizes the anchors based on impact, urgency, or other relevant criteria.
Action Planning: Based on the discussion and prioritization, action items or recommendations are formulated for removing or mitigating the anchors.
Advantages
Problem Identification: Provides a structured way to identify and articulate issues or challenges.
Stakeholder Engagement: Ensures active involvement of stakeholders by allowing them to physically place and discuss their anchors.
Collective Insight: Enables teams to benefit from diverse viewpoints and facilitates consensus-building.
Focus on Improvement: Drives the team to think about solutions and action plans for the issues identified.
The Speedboat technique is often used in Agile environments but is versatile enough to be useful in any framework or methodology. It is particularly effective for retrospective meetings, problem-solving sessions, or any situation where impediments need to be identified and addressed.