A business process mirror comprising three interrelated exercises that focus on wider organisational issues: ‘Replica’ [from ‘Cubism’], ‘Shelving’ & ‘3-D Polygons’.

Number of Participants:

6– 21

Running Time:

90 Minutes

Key points:

1. Exercise meets huge variety of learning outcomes
2. Applicable to most team environments
3. Easy to use and versatile
4. Constituent parts can be played as games in own right

Main Concept:

Quality Jam is a composite exercise that, through three different games, enables users to efficiently assess and prioritize tasks within a team environment. Each individual contributes specific components which are required to complete the tasks which are the responsibility of other teams. These components are the specific 'property' of the person who is issued with them and cannot be transferred to, or handled by, anyone else at any stage in the exercise. Therefore, no task can be completed in isolation overall project planning is required alongside a willingness to operate flexibly and respond quickly to the needs of others.

Quality Jam:

• Promotes assessment and prioritization of tasks
• Enables users to achieve multiple, inter-related tasks
• Develops knowledge, information & skill transfer in a team
• Illustrates the importance of flexible manpower and resource management

Quality Jam reflects situations in which particular knowledge, skill or access to resources and information lies with a limited number of people within a system.

Built-in reviews of the exercises make participants aware of ‘the bigger picture’ and promote recognition of greater or more urgent need, and ways in which they allocate and re-allocate resources according to changing circumstances. ‘Quality Jam’ also highlights issues which are involved in integrating different parts of a complex system and coping with the effects of problems or delays in one part of a system which have a knock-on effect further down the line.

Quality Jam comprises the following games:

Cubism
Combines two applications into one package. Focuses upon interdependence, specifically participant’s ability to share and cross reference information. Development of support networks, conflict management and leadership in a group is also undertaken. Cubism in both its forms provides a fast route to powerful and transferable learning.

Shelving
A group problem-solving exercise which requires an initial strategy to be developed, a period of trial and error testing and a refinement of a detailed implementation plan. It highlights the importance of individual contributions to group task achievement.

3-D Polygons - Shapes and Plans
A group exercise for construction/problem solving projects. Focus is on team building and the development of strategy planning and implementation.