- Game

Okaloa Flowlab


by Matthias Berth
Okaloa Flowlab is a simulation / game for different kinds of work organization, like classical assignment of tasks by a manager, or Kanban. I really like the way it lets you experience the effect of lean principles (limiting Work in Process, Flow, being able to help your team mates). And it's fun, seriously! We'd like to play this with a group of 5-10 people. Quote: "Through simulating a conventional work environment that reflects a mechanistic mindset characterized by a focus on resource efficiency, command and control and specialist workers, participants experience which roadblocks need to be overcome. As the team is taking its first baby steps into agile, they will experiment (in 2 or 3 rounds) with policies and practices (e.g. pull of work, cadences, limiting WIP) that enable collaboration, get the team into flow, and allow an agile mindset to emerge. Weaved into the simulations they will discover the fundamental difference between resource efficiency and flow efficiency."