Making Pamphlets: Kanban Game
I've been searching the internet for more kanban related training tools and came across this game at www.tastycupcakes.com. Entitled Making Pamphlets: Kanban Game, the simulation demonstrates lean techniques with the making of promotional brochures for a holiday resort. Clocking in at 1 hr and using simple office supplies, it seems to be an excellent simulation for a lean office environment.
The supplies required are as follows:
These types of games are best with teams, so that they can compete against and learn from each other. The game does assume some knowledge of kanban boards, so some research or additional training would be required on that front. I'm currently involved in a kanban implementation and I'm looking for a simple game that shows the movement of kanban cards. This game is perfect. I just have to figure out the best way to demonstrate use of the board for people that have no prior knowledge.
Update: This game seems to have disappeared from the tastycupcakes site, but there's a similar game called "We're having a Party", that involves making invitations for a party. Still using simple office supplies, it also explores the batch and queue vs single piece flow processes.
Here's another example of the "Making Pamphlets" game.
The supplies required are as follows:
Color paper: 4 different colors (20 pages or each color per team)
Glue sticks: 2 per team
Scissors: 2 pairs per team
Envelopes: 2 different sizes or colors (20 of each per team)
Color pencils: 1 set per team
Masking tape: 1 per team
Post-its: 3 different colors per team
Misc stickers (optional)
These types of games are best with teams, so that they can compete against and learn from each other. The game does assume some knowledge of kanban boards, so some research or additional training would be required on that front. I'm currently involved in a kanban implementation and I'm looking for a simple game that shows the movement of kanban cards. This game is perfect. I just have to figure out the best way to demonstrate use of the board for people that have no prior knowledge.
Update: This game seems to have disappeared from the tastycupcakes site, but there's a similar game called "We're having a Party", that involves making invitations for a party. Still using simple office supplies, it also explores the batch and queue vs single piece flow processes.
Here's another example of the "Making Pamphlets" game.
I always find it interesting to see how well certain simulation games work in real training situations. If you are interested, you can find a report from a session of "Making Pamphlets" at http://www.inevitable.co.za/2010/11/kanban-learn-with-games/
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ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know. Looks like they're done a site redesign at tastycupcakes and I can't find this game anymore either. There are a few new ones though, that might be similar.
ReplyDeleteI'll update the post above if it doesn't turn up on their site in a few days.
I've updated the post since this game has disappeared. There is an alternative: http://tastycupcakes.org/2009/06/were-having-a-party/
ReplyDeleteAlso, the report from a session of "Making Pamphlets" is now at the following url:
ReplyDeletehttp://inevitablyagile.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/kanban-learn-with-games/
More details about the game are shown.