strategy game

Building a strategy game

Introduction

We are going to play a strategy building game. We’re hoping it will be fun. But we’re going to have to do some work to prep first. Here’s what we’re going to do:

Part 1 - Creating Cards - 30 mins

• As a group, we’re going to start out creating the playing cards.
• We’ll split into pairs, newer/older. Newer person will interview the older person about a prior project.
• From those details you’ll write out aspects of that project as the playing cards we’ll use later.
• Card templates

Part 2 - Discussion: What constitutes a strategy? - 30 mins

• Spend a short amount of time discussing the why and how creating a strategy.
• We’ll discuss frameworks and intangibles.

Break - 15 mins

Part 3 - Build the strategy - 120 mins

• We’ll split into groups of 3.
• Two people will play strategists, one will play the partner point of contact.
• Strategists will have two hours to work with their partner to conduct a PA-like project and help them prepare for subsequent work.

Part 4 - Transition - 60 mins

• The work we do sets the stage for subsequent work.
• The last segment will focus on transition.
• We’ll share our work with the larger group as if we are handing off the work to them. We’ll discuss

Part 1 - Creating the Playing cards (content/scenarios) - 30 mins

Prep

• Create pairings

Directions

• We’re going to split up into pairs, one person who’s been at 18F for a while and one newer person.
• We’re going to use prior project to form the basis of our game later.
• The newer folks are going to interview the older folks about a prior project.
• You’ll all get blank cards to fill out: Technical, Operations, Users, Stakeholders, Partner POC
• We’ll take 30 minutes to talk about the project.
• During that time, talk about those 5 aspects and write down answers to the questions on each blank card.
• Now, try to write them in a way that is not overly-specific to the real project.
• Example: Instead of saying “the Office for Refugee Resettlement couldn’t track how many beds were available for unaccompanied children” to “the agency isn’t able to track its supply of resources that are necessary for it to serve its primary constituent group.

Part 2 - Discussion: What makes up a strategy? - 30 mins

Discussion

One scribe on board, one facilitator

Why

• Why do we take on strategic projects like path analysis projects? What are we hoping to accomplish?
• Make sure we bring up: Constructive, not just critical; Prepare for subsequent work (done by us or others)

How

• Strategy frameworks (put on the board) + others
• Others?
• Are there intangibles that make a project work well for you?

Break: 15 mins

Part 3 - Game play - 120 mins

Directions

We’re going to split up into groups of three. 2 will be strategists, one will be the partner

• Two strategists - You are playing the role of the 18F strategist. You are focused on helping your partner deliver on their mission. You bring your own experience and 18F values to bear. You are working to co-create a strategy your partner will be able to move forward with beyond the engagement.
• “The partner POC” - You are playing the role of the partner. You are a competent, seasoned professional who is focused on delivering on your agency’s mission. You want to make sure that you’re not just [something about not just wanting a bunch of words]. You’ll also need to make up some stuff to round out the game when the strategist asks questions.
• The partner point of contact role is going to have to make up stuff. They will be the stand-in for our partners and their users. They will be the SME you conduct research with. Have fun with it.
• The two strategists will facilitate a PA-like engagement in 120 mins.
• At the end of the engagement, we’ll take a 15 min break and then we’re going to “transition” the projects.
• The way we’ll do that is to present our work to the full group who will be able to ask questions, explain what else they’d like to know. This will be like an art school critique.

Identify the POCs

Split up into groups of 3

• POCs - Take some time to think about your scenario and get ready to fill in some blanks to make it more realistic
• Strategists - Take some time to discuss between you two about how you’d like to use your time.
• If we don’t have enough people for 3 groups of 3, one person can play 2 points of contact and be disengaged partners
• While groups are discussing, facilitators go around and pass out cards. Each team gets : Technical, Operations, Users, Stakeholders, Agency
• POC gets POC card and Wildcard - DOES NOT SHARE
• You’ll have 120 mins to build your strategy. Think about the discussion we had, the strategy frameworks, the intangibles, and remember, you are building a constructive strategy that will be “transitioned” to a subsequent team.

Part 4 - “Transition”

Prep

Define time for each group

Directions

• We’ll evenly divide the time between teams.
• Each team, strategist and partner, will present to the larger group about their work.
• The group asks questions, offers feedback.