Described in Mitch Lacey’s The Scrum Field Guide: Practical Advice for your First Year, this game helps Agile teams gauge task priority and required effort in a fun and engaging way. By arranging tasks on a priority-effort matrix, teams can clarify which tasks to tackle first, facilitating better focus and resource allocation.
How do you use the template for Mitch Lacey’s Estimation Game?
Using Mitch Lacey’s Estimation Game template is straightforward and engaging for teams. Here’s a quick guide to help you make the most of it:
1. Familiarize Yourself with the Matrix
The template features a matrix with two axes:
- X-axis: Represents task size, or how much effort the task requires.
- Y-axis: Represents task priority, based on metrics like ROI or business impact. Discuss with your team how you’ll define task priority to ensure a consistent approach.
2. Add Tasks as Sticky Notes
Write each task on a separate sticky note (e.g., “landing page design,” “CMS evaluation”). The template has a few pre-made sticky notes, but you can add more as needed.
3. Arrange Tasks on the Matrix
Position each sticky note on the matrix according to its size and priority:
- Top-left: High-priority, small tasks — tackle these first.
- Top-right: High-priority, larger tasks — consider breaking these down into smaller steps.
- Bottom-right: Low-priority, larger tasks — place these toward the bottom of your backlog.
- Bottom-left: Low-priority, small tasks — keep these at the back for easy wins if needed.
Discuss task placement as a team and adjust the positions as you refine priorities. You can also start a quick voting session to make team decisions easier.
This approach helps you prioritize efficiently and ensures your team’s efforts are focused on the most impactful tasks.
