Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

A Fun Marshmallow Challenge Debrief

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
WhatsApp

You can find a lot of praise for the Marshmallow Challenge. It is a good warm-up for workshops and training sessions and you can learn a lot from it. Usually, the learning people talk about is iterative development: the game lasts around 18 minutes and people will usually start doing something with the marshmallow itself in the last five or six minutes, to discover that it is rather heavy. Usually, we say that when kids play it they take the marshmallow at the beginning and start playing with it.

While this is all true I like to take something else out of the exercise. Immediately at the end, when some groups are ecstatic with joy while others are looking in disbelief at a pile of useless spaghetti and ropes scattered before them on the rug, I ask the audience whether they had fun.

The answer will always be “Yes!”

So I ask why did they have fun. At the end of a short discussion we reach the conclusion that it was fun due to the following:

  1. We worked as a team
  2. We had the same tangible, short-term goal
  3. We learned and improved throughout the exercise

I use this recognition to start talking about agile, or scrum, showing how the various practices encompass what would be “fun”.

I remind the teams about this exercise throughout the implementation: “remember the marshmallow challenge? Remember how fun it was? This is what we want to have here, every day!”

Subscribe for Email Updates:

Categories:

Tags:

Scrum Values
Managing Risk on Agile Projects
Implementing SAFe
Lean-Agile Software Development
Nexus vs SAFe
Scrum Primer
chatgpt
Frameworks
Legacy Code
Lean Agile
Agile Release Management
Pomodoro Technique
Agile Israel Events
Engineering Practices
Introduction to Test Driven Development
Scrum and XP
Development Value Streams
DevOps
Covid19
Sprint Retrospectives
SAFe
lean agile change management
AI Artificial Intelligence
Story Slicing
ARTs
Kanban Basics
Kanban Kickstart Example
Scrum With Kanban
Principles of Lean-Agile Leadership
User stories
Certified SAFe
What Is Kanban
Agile Techniques
Risk-aware Product Development
agileisrael
Agile Product Ownership
Continuous Deployment
SAFe DevOps
speed @ scale
QA
Agile Israel
Agile India
Agile Exercises
Agile Games and Exercises
Test Driven Development
BDD
Release Train Engineer
Lean Risk Management
Scrum Master
SPC
ALM Tools
Presentation
Agile Outsourcing
Process Improvement
Kaizen Workshop
Kanban 101
Agile Mindset
Lean Software Development
Nexus and Kanban
Lean-Agile Budgeting
Atlaassian
Iterative Incremental Development
System Integration Environments
AI
SA
Scrum.org
TDD
Agile Product Development
Agile for Embedded Systems
Kanban
Business Agility
Amdocs
RTE Role
Acceptance Test-Driven Development
ScrumMaster Tales
Risk Management on Agile Projects
Lean Startup
Professional Scrum Master
Limiting Work in Progress
Manage Budget Creation
Built-In Quality
Introduction to ATDD
An Appreciative Retrospective
predictability
Reading List
Applying Agile Methodology
ROI
The Kanban Method
Achieve Business Agility
System Archetypes
Legacy Enterprise
Tips
Tools
Coaching Agile Teams
Agile Risk Management
WIP
Enterprise DevOps
PI Planning
RSA
Agile Development
Professional Scrum Product Owner
Continuous Integration
Agile Delivery
Program Increment
Effective Agile Retrospectives
Systems Thinking
LPM
Sprint Iteration
Risk Management in Kanban
Nexus and SAFe
Agile Community
Lean Agile Management
Lean Budgeting
Nexus Integration Team
Agile Release Planning
The Agile Coach
Hybrid Work
AgileSparks
Lean Agile Leadership
Agile Contracts Best Practices
Scrum
Perfection Game
Kanban Game
Portfolio for Jira
Implementation of Lean and Agile
Continuous Planning
Agile
Sprint Planning
Jira
Slides
Agile Project
Managing Projects
System Team
Lean and Agile Techniques
Agile Games
Agile Testing Practices
Software Development Estimation
speed at scale
Quality Assurance
POPM
Accelerate Value Delivery At Scale
Scaled Agile Framework
Agile Program
Product Ownership
Artificial Intelligence
Games and Exercises
Advanced Roadmaps
Webinar
Change Management
Spotify
A Kanban System for Software Engineering
Value Streams
Nexus
ATDD
Large Scale Scrum
Agile Project Management
ATDD vs. BDD
Jira Cloud
Continuous Improvement
RTE
Agile and DevOps Journey
Entrepreneurial Operating System®
Planning
Atlassian
Daily Scrum
Agile Assembly Architecture
Operational Value Stream
Agile Basics
Certification
Jira Plans
Lean Agile Organization
LeSS
ART Success
Elastic Leadership
PI Objectives
Agile Marketing
Agile in the Enterprise
EOS®
Scrum Guide
Kaizen
Professional Scrum with Kanban
Scrum Master Role
Product Management
Code
IT Operations
Self-organization
Lean Agile Basics
Agility
Lean and Agile Principles and Practices
Releases Using Lean
Video
GanttBan
LAB
SAFe Release Planning
Jira admin
Rapid RTC
Continuous Delivery
Software Development
AgileSparks
Logo
Enable registration in settings - general

Contact Us

Request for additional information and prices

AgileSparks Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter, and stay updated on the latest Agile news and events

This website uses Cookies to provide a better experience
Shopping cart