On Thursday, 2/9, MARISSA FOGAL facilitated a PAPER FOLDING ACTIVITY with the group. This activity is an adaptation of Collaborative Origami. Marissa instructed participants to grab sheets of paper of any size and any types (ie, notebook paper, junk paper, etc.). Marissa left a lot of mystery as instructions were intentionally almost non-existent. Game play would occur in 2 rounds.
For the first round, participants were instructed to turn off their cameras and no questions or other talking was allowed (except for the facilitator). Marissa did not tell the participants what they were about to create. Instead, she dove right into the instructions. Using an instruction sheet (that only the facilitator could see) she read aloud each step to create the various folds. After completing the final step, Marissa invited the team to turn their cameras back on and they could unmute for a slight debrief. She still didn’t reveal what they were folding but asked participants to share their final creations.
For the second round, participants were invited to leave on their cameras and they could ask any questions along the way. Instantly, a participant asked what the final outcome was expected to be. “A Frog!”. Using the second sheet of paper, Marissa started to reread the same instructions from earlier. However, this time through, participants asked questions such as repeating a step or asking to see a fold. After completing all the steps, each participant had a frog!
We did a debrief to discuss the differences between both rounds and we also reflected on where we may see similar scenarios in our work environments. Many of us are working with virtual teams and it can be difficult for face-to-face interactions. Sometimes, we may encounter quiet team members or team members who may be afraid to ask questions. We talked about how the lack of clarity on user stories can have negative impacts, such as rework. Communication is important for teams, regardless of physically located together or virtually dispersed. Marissa shared that this activity can be done on its own or it could be incorporated into a retrospective.
The original game instructions can be found here but Marissa invites people to switch it up to work with their team dynamics: Collaborative Origami
Here are the Frog paper folding instructions Marissa used: Origami Jumping Frog