The popular “Ballpoint Game” was utilized to tackle the question, whether a superior project approach exists. Two different project approaches have been compared: quick iterations (as know from "agile" management) versus in-depth conceptualization (as known from "waterfall"). The 2-years-experiment involved more than 1,000 participants - and led to a surprising result! Check out http://overthefence.com.de for more. Over the Fence - Projects Newly Discovered

1. Agile
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FRANKY‘S FABULOUS FENCE GRILL
>You kill‘em,we grill‘em<
PRESENTS
THE GREATEST FIGHT IN PROJECT HISTORY
“The Waterfall”
Traditional
VS.
DIRECT FROM
RINGSIDE AT
Meat ‘n Greet
SLAUGHTERHOUSE
ALL SEATS
RESERVED
STARTING €25DOORS ARE
O P E N
BERLIN
IS THE PLACE
2013
2014
2015
*** RINGSIDE ONLY *** NO HOME TV *** NO RADIO *** CC by-sa overthefence.com.de

2. Agile vs. Traditional:
An experiment
to challenge project
management approaches
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3. The experiment
23 months
1,032 participants
42 nationalities
86 teams
and 12,299 tennis balls
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4. Before we start
4
the
ballpoint
game
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5. Before we start
5
move as many
ballsas possible
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6. Before we start
6
in
2 minutes!
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7. Before we start
7
rulesof play
Ball must not
touch floor
Start point
is end point
Ball must
have air time
No ball to your
direct neighbor
Everybody must
touch the ball
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8. Before we start
8
let‘s build two
teams
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9. Before we start
9
let‘s try different
approaches!
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10. Before we start
10
Who wins,
quick
iterations or …
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11. Before we start
11
...in-depth
planning?
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12. Before we start
12
the case for
team 1
PLAN RUN REVIEW RUN REVIEW RUN…
2 4 5 7 8 16min.
estimate estimate
five
quick iterations
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13. Before we start
PLAN RUN
0 16min.
estimate
one plan
that must be perfect
the case for
team 2
14
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14. Before we start
14
Repeating the rules …
 Move tennis balls
 As many as possible
 In two minutes
 Start point = end point (fill the empty basket)
 Balls must have air-time
 No ball to your direct neighbor
 Everybody must touch the ball
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15. Before we start
15
let‘s
battle!
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16. One way to do it …

17. One of many alternatives …

18. Before we start
18
what‘s the
result?
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19. Team 1
always wins!
>> After 16 minutes (Round 1):
The team with the “iterative approach”
wins 31 of 31 competitions (i.e. has moved
more balls in 2 mins. than the other team)
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20. Before we start
20
let‘s have a
second round!
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21. Before we start
21
let‘s swap
approaches!
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22. Before we start
22
Team 2
becomes agile
PLAN RUN REVIEW RUN REVIEW RUN…
2 4 5 7 8 16min.
estimate estimate
five
quick iterations
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23. Before we start
PLAN RUN
0 16min.
estimate
one plan
that must be perfect
Team 1
does in-depth planning
14
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24. Before we start
Overview
How the entire game was set-up
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32 Min.0 16 Min.
1st Round 2nd Round
„Team 1“
„Team 2“

25. Before we start
25
Guess,
who wins
after the 2nd round?
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26. Tied game!
>> After Round 1 and Round 2
the team which started with an
“iterative approach” wins only
15 of 31 competitions;
the other team wins in 16 cases.
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27. Before we start
27
Final experiment …
Does a pure “agile“ approach
beat the combination of
“agile“ and “traditional“?
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28. Nope!
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Team B
(Pure Approach)
Iterative/Iterative
In-depth/In-depth
Iterative/Iterative
In-depth/In-depth
Iterative/Iterative
In-depth/In-depth
Iterative/Iterative
In-depth/In-depth
Iterative/Iterative
In-depth/In-depth
Iterative/Iterative
In-depth/In-depth
Team A
(Combined Approach)
Iterative/In-depth
Iterative/In-depth
Iterative/In-depth
Iterative/In-depth
Iterative/In-depth
Iterative/In-depth
In-depth/Iterative
In-depth/Iterative
In-depth/Iterative
In-depth/Iterative
In-depth/Iterative
In-depth/Iterative
Game #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Winner
Combined (A)
Combined (A)
Combined (A)
Combined (A)
Combined (A)
Combined (A)
Combined (A)
Combined (A)
Combined (A)
Combined (A)
Combined (A)
Combined (A)

29. Finding
Combining approaches
is superior to a single approach!
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30. read the complete blogpost at
overthefence.com.de

31. CC by-sa overthefence.com.de