The Cynefin Brick: LEGO City

Time: 40 Min
Experiential
3.5/5
LEGO® Level
2/5
Fun
3.6/5
Cynefin was introduced 20 years ago and is a very powerful framework to make sense of our complex world. But unlike Scrum, it has not enjoyed the same popularity. We believe this is could be partially due to the fact that Cynefin is not as accessible and easy to understand. We have personally struggled to introduce the principles and practises related to Cynefin in organisations in the past. The LEAT® Cynefin module makes it now possible to experience Cynefin and make the principles easier to introduce and comprehend than ever before.

Details:

LEAT Coach prerequisite: Cynfin knowledge

Target Audience: Leadership, management, PO, SM

minimal 2 teams of 2 to 4 people

LEGO: 

  1. 10 x LEGO CITY Race Boat 30363  
  2. 10 x LEGO City Fire Helicopter 30566
  1. Divide into 2 teams of 2 to 

Clear Domain

1.

Build

Brief:

  1. Let the teams chose between Race Boat or Fire Helicopter
  2. Get the right building instructions
  3. Build in 15 min from the building instructions as many items as the team can
Icon
LEGO City Fire Helicopter 30566 Building instructions
291.48 KB 1 file(s)
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LEGO City Race Boat 30363 Building instructions
179.91 KB 1 file(s)

Experience

Simple, Fast, Easy, Efficient, Progress, Flow, Know what to do. Comfortable

Sense: Get the brief
Categorise: Choose race boat or fire helicopter
Respond: Get the right building instructions get

15 Min.

Reflect

Powerful Questions:
  • How many did you make?
  • What did that feel like? 
  • Teamwork?
  • Interaction?
  • What went wrong?
  • What are the pitfalls? 
  • What do you know is like this in your organization/work?
Powerful Questions:
  • What if we would need a slightly different model?
  • What if there was a mistake in the plan?
  • What if the plan was unclear?
 

Adapt

Based on your experience and reflection what improvement would you make to the model for the next BERA cycle
Catastrophic collapse of instructions that are fixed constraints
  • What do you know is like this in your organization/work/life?

Complicated Domain

2.

Build

  1. Give the building instructions back
  2. Build the new model from new bricks in 15 minutes
  3. You can use the bricks from the LSP Exploration bag

Experience

A bit more complicated steps to follow, flow interrupted, the communication needed, still pretty much a fixed result.

Sense: What change do we need to make? 
Analyse: How do we build that?
Respond: Build according to changed plan

15 Min.

Reflect

Powerful Questions:
  • How many did you make?
  • What did that feel like? 
  • Did somebody take the lead? Expert Domain
  • Did you feel the need for interaction?
  • Did you change the plan?
  • What are the pitfalls? 
  • Waterfall?
  • VUCA?
  • What if did not have the first experience?
  • What if we weren’t experts?
  • What would the next change be like?
  • What if we made a mistake?

Adapt

How can we absorb unforeseen circumstances if we strictly follow the  instructions or plan?
Previous
Next
Governing constraints and experts
  • What do you know is like this in your organization/work/life?

Complex Domain

3.

Build

  1. Brake up the models
  2. Create new teams of 2
  3. Build a hybrid water air model

Experience

This needs lots more communication. 

Probe: Start building 
Sense: See what works and what not
Respond: Build the next thing

15 Min.

Reflect

Powerful Questions:
  • What did that feel like? 
  • Teamwork?
  • Did you co-create
  • Did you feel the need for interaction?
  • What steps did you use?
  • Did you try different things
  • Could you determine the cause and effect of your design decisions?
  • Look around: Similar constructions?
  • Could you learn of each other?
  • What if something unexpected would happen?
  • What do you know is like this in your organization/work/life?
  • VUCA

Adapt

How to determine between complex and complicated?
Enabling constraints and craftsmen/generalist/t-shape 
  • What do you know is like this in your organization/work/life?

Chaos Domain

4.

Build

Build something in 3 minutes

Experience

Stress, no time to waste, somebody leads, original ideas

Act: Lets build…
Sense: Does it work
Respond: Make it work

3 Min.

Reflect

Powerful Questions:
  • What did that feel like? 
  • Teamwork?
  • Did somebody take the lead?
  • Did you co-create
  • Did you feel the need for interaction?
  • What steps did you use?
  • Did you try different things?
  • Look around: Similar constructions?
  • Failuire?
  • Could you learn of each other?
  • What do you know is like this in your organization/work/life?
  • VUCA

Abstract

How to use chaos?

Cynefin

5.

Build

Build according to your context domain

Experience

liminality

Aporia and Confused

8 Min.

Reflect

Powerful Questions:
  • How to use Cynefin
  • Could you learn of each other?
  • What do you know is like this in your organization/work/life?
  • VUCA

Abstract

How to use Cynefin in your organisation?

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