Team Offsite Essentials
A practical office board about communication, meetings, problem solving, and healthy team habits.
The board
Swipe the board sideways · 5 categories
| Communication | Meetings | Problem Solving | Team Habits | Clear Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100Restating someone's point to confirm you understood it | 100The ordered list of topics for a meeting | 100A visual method that repeatedly asks why a problem occurred | 100Confidence that it is safe to speak up or admit a mistake | 100The standard used to judge whether an option succeeds |
| 200A question that cannot be answered with only yes or no | 200The person who guides a discussion and keeps it moving | 200The underlying reason a problem exists | 200A clearly named person responsible for moving a task forward | 200A choice that can be changed without major cost |
| 300Information given to help someone improve or continue good work | 300A fixed maximum amount of time for an activity | 300A small test used to learn before making a full change | 300A shared rule about how a team works together | 300The person who makes the final call after input |
| 400Paying close attention without planning your reply | 400A quick round in which each person shares an update | 400A possible explanation that can be tested | 400The belief that another person will do what is expected | 400A record of a choice and the reasoning behind it |
| 500A short written record of a decision and its owner | 500The written record of what was discussed and decided | 500A meeting held after work to identify lessons and improvements | 500A limit on work started but not yet finished | 500A date set to review whether a decision still works |
Adults · 25 of 25 clues written · final round · about 20 minutes
18 of 26 answers carry the sentence they were checked against · 8 make no factual claim
Play time assumes about 40 seconds a clue plus three minutes for the final round. Nothing is saved to a server and no account is needed. How answers are checked.
Player sheet
Team Offsite Essentials · Adults · answers are on the host key
Communication
- 100 Restating someone's point to confirm you understood it
- 200 A question that cannot be answered with only yes or no
- 300 Information given to help someone improve or continue good work
- 400 Paying close attention without planning your reply
- 500 A short written record of a decision and its owner
Meetings
- 100 The ordered list of topics for a meeting
- 200 The person who guides a discussion and keeps it moving
- 300 A fixed maximum amount of time for an activity
- 400 A quick round in which each person shares an update
- 500 The written record of what was discussed and decided
Problem Solving
- 100 A visual method that repeatedly asks why a problem occurred
- 200 The underlying reason a problem exists
- 300 A small test used to learn before making a full change
- 400 A possible explanation that can be tested
- 500 A meeting held after work to identify lessons and improvements
Team Habits
- 100 Confidence that it is safe to speak up or admit a mistake
- 200 A clearly named person responsible for moving a task forward
- 300 A shared rule about how a team works together
- 400 The belief that another person will do what is expected
- 500 A limit on work started but not yet finished
Clear Decisions
- 100 The standard used to judge whether an option succeeds
- 200 A choice that can be changed without major cost
- 300 The person who makes the final call after input
- 400 A record of a choice and the reasoning behind it
- 500 A date set to review whether a decision still works
Final round: Team Learning
This meeting format asks what went well, what did not, and what the team will change.
Host key
Team Offsite Essentials · keep this sheet · it carries the answers
Communication
- 100 Restating someone's point to confirm you understood it Response: ParaphrasingChecked against:
Paraphrasing involves putting the speaker's message in one's words to demonstrate one's understanding and continue the discussion.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Active_listening&oldid=1360607115 - 200 A question that cannot be answered with only yes or no Response: An open-ended questionChecked against:
An open-ended question is a question that cannot be answered with a "yes" or "no" response, or with a static response.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Open-ended_question&oldid=1358644104 - 300 Information given to help someone improve or continue good work Response: FeedbackChecked against:
Performance appraisal interviews provide feedback to employees, at the same time facilitating collaboration and discussion on pay, career development and progression, and employee discipline, clarifying the expectations of subordinates, communicating their effectiveness in achieving those goals, and ideally improving employee engagement and satisfaction.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Performance_appraisal&oldid=1363164649 - 400 Paying close attention without planning your reply Response: Active listeningChecked against:
When practicing active listening, the listener must pay attention to what the speaker is attempting to communicate and elicit clarification where necessary for comprehension.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Active_listening&oldid=1360607115 - 500 A short written record of a decision and its owner Response: An action itemChecked against:
A usual format for an action item is to record an action item number, the date when the action item is identified or created, the name of the person to whom the action is assigned, a title description of the action, a more detailed description of the action and its outcomes, and its deliverables.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Action_item&oldid=1354171107
Meetings
- 100 The ordered list of topics for a meeting Response: The agendaChecked against:
An agenda is a list of meeting activities in the order in which they are to be taken up, beginning with the call to order and ending with adjournment.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Agenda_(meeting)&oldid=1345350651 - 200 The person who guides a discussion and keeps it moving Response: The facilitatorChecked against:
A facilitator is a person who helps a group of people to work together better, understand their common objectives, and plan how to achieve these objectives, during meetings or discussions.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Facilitator&oldid=1359222745 - 300 A fixed maximum amount of time for an activity Response: A timeboxChecked against:
In agile principles, timeboxing is the allocation of a maximum unit of time to an activity, called a timebox, within which a planned activity takes place.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timeboxing&oldid=1356420222 - 400 A quick round in which each person shares an update Response: A check-inTeam check-in is a context-dependent meeting label; no invariant factual answer.
- 500 The written record of what was discussed and decided Response: Meeting minutesChecked against:
Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting, protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Minutes&oldid=1364547935
Problem Solving
- 100 A visual method that repeatedly asks why a problem occurred Response: The Five WhysChecked against:
Five whys (or 5 whys) is an iterative interrogative technique used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a particular problem.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Five_whys&oldid=1363806522 - 200 The underlying reason a problem exists Response: The root causeChecked against:
Root-cause analysis is often used in proactive management to identify the root cause of a problem, that is, the factor that was the leading cause.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Root-cause_analysis&oldid=1356965462 - 300 A small test used to learn before making a full change Response: A pilotChecked against:
A pilot experiment (also known as pilot study, pilot test, or pilot project) is a small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research project.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pilot_experiment&oldid=1364181567 - 400 A possible explanation that can be tested Response: A hypothesisChecked against:
The scientific method involves experimentation to test the ability of some hypothesis to adequately answer the question under investigation.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hypothesis&oldid=1351359517 - 500 A meeting held after work to identify lessons and improvements Response: A retrospectiveChecked against:
The term is also used in software engineering, where a retrospective is a meeting held by a project team at the end of a project or process (often after an iteration) to discuss what was successful about the project or time period covered by that retrospective, what could be improved, and how to incorporate the successes and improvements in future iterations or projects.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Retrospective&oldid=1320267533
Team Habits
- 100 Confidence that it is safe to speak up or admit a mistake Response: Psychological safetyChecked against:
Psychological safety, as defined by Edmondson (1999), refers to an environment where individuals feel safe to express opinions, admit mistakes, and take risks without fear of ridicule or retribution.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Psychological_safety&oldid=1356787835 - 200 A clearly named person responsible for moving a task forward Response: An ownerOwner is context-dependent project terminology; no invariant factual answer.
- 300 A shared rule about how a team works together Response: A working agreementWorking agreement is context-dependent team terminology; no invariant factual answer.
- 400 The belief that another person will do what is expected Response: TrustChecked against:
Trust is the belief that another person will do what is expected and is built through repeated consistency.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trust_(social_science)&oldid=1355337479 - 500 A limit on work started but not yet finished Response: A work-in-progress limitChecked against:
To make sure this rule is followed Scrumban uses WIP (work in progress) limit.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scrumban&oldid=1350688864
Clear Decisions
- 100 The standard used to judge whether an option succeeds Response: A decision criterionA decision criterion is the team-defined standard described by this clue; no outside source is needed.
- 200 A choice that can be changed without major cost Response: A reversible decisionA reversible decision is defined by the cost condition in this clue; no outside source is needed.
- 300 The person who makes the final call after input Response: The decision ownerThe decision owner is the team label used by this clue; no outside source is needed.
- 400 A record of a choice and the reasoning behind it Response: A decision logA decision log is the team record described by this clue; no outside source is needed.
- 500 A date set to review whether a decision still works Response: A review dateA review date is the date defined by this clue; no outside source is needed.
Final round: Team Learning
This meeting format asks what went well, what did not, and what the team will change. Response: A retrospectiveChecked against: The term is also used in software engineering, where a retrospective is a meeting held by a project team at the end of a project or process (often after an iteration) to discuss what was successful about the project or time period covered by that retrospective, what could be improved, and how to incorporate the successes and improvements in future iterations or projects.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Retrospective&oldid=1320267533
Every clue, every answer, and what it was checked against
This is what prints on the host key.
Communication
Restating someone's point to confirm you understood it 100
ParaphrasingChecked against:
Paraphrasing involves putting the speaker's message in one's words to demonstrate one's understanding and continue the discussion.
Source, pinned revisionA question that cannot be answered with only yes or no 200
An open-ended questionChecked against:
An open-ended question is a question that cannot be answered with a "yes" or "no" response, or with a static response.
Source, pinned revisionInformation given to help someone improve or continue good work 300
FeedbackChecked against:
Performance appraisal interviews provide feedback to employees, at the same time facilitating collaboration and discussion on pay, career development and progression, and employee discipline, clarifying the expectations of subordinates, communicating their effectiveness in achieving those goals, and ideally improving employee engagement and satisfaction.
Source, pinned revisionPaying close attention without planning your reply 400
Active listeningChecked against:
When practicing active listening, the listener must pay attention to what the speaker is attempting to communicate and elicit clarification where necessary for comprehension.
Source, pinned revisionA short written record of a decision and its owner 500
An action itemChecked against:
A usual format for an action item is to record an action item number, the date when the action item is identified or created, the name of the person to whom the action is assigned, a title description of the action, a more detailed description of the action and its outcomes, and its deliverables.
Source, pinned revision
Meetings
The ordered list of topics for a meeting 100
The agendaChecked against:
An agenda is a list of meeting activities in the order in which they are to be taken up, beginning with the call to order and ending with adjournment.
Source, pinned revisionThe person who guides a discussion and keeps it moving 200
The facilitatorChecked against:
A facilitator is a person who helps a group of people to work together better, understand their common objectives, and plan how to achieve these objectives, during meetings or discussions.
Source, pinned revisionA fixed maximum amount of time for an activity 300
A timeboxChecked against:
In agile principles, timeboxing is the allocation of a maximum unit of time to an activity, called a timebox, within which a planned activity takes place.
Source, pinned revisionA quick round in which each person shares an update 400
A check-inTeam check-in is a context-dependent meeting label; no invariant factual answer.
The written record of what was discussed and decided 500
Meeting minutesChecked against:
Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting, protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing.
Source, pinned revision
Problem Solving
A visual method that repeatedly asks why a problem occurred 100
The Five WhysChecked against:
Five whys (or 5 whys) is an iterative interrogative technique used to explore the cause-and-effect relationships underlying a particular problem.
Source, pinned revisionThe underlying reason a problem exists 200
The root causeChecked against:
Root-cause analysis is often used in proactive management to identify the root cause of a problem, that is, the factor that was the leading cause.
Source, pinned revisionA small test used to learn before making a full change 300
A pilotChecked against:
A pilot experiment (also known as pilot study, pilot test, or pilot project) is a small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research project.
Source, pinned revisionA possible explanation that can be tested 400
A hypothesisChecked against:
The scientific method involves experimentation to test the ability of some hypothesis to adequately answer the question under investigation.
Source, pinned revisionA meeting held after work to identify lessons and improvements 500
A retrospectiveChecked against:
The term is also used in software engineering, where a retrospective is a meeting held by a project team at the end of a project or process (often after an iteration) to discuss what was successful about the project or time period covered by that retrospective, what could be improved, and how to incorporate the successes and improvements in future iterations or projects.
Source, pinned revision
Team Habits
Confidence that it is safe to speak up or admit a mistake 100
Psychological safetyChecked against:
Psychological safety, as defined by Edmondson (1999), refers to an environment where individuals feel safe to express opinions, admit mistakes, and take risks without fear of ridicule or retribution.
Source, pinned revisionA clearly named person responsible for moving a task forward 200
An ownerOwner is context-dependent project terminology; no invariant factual answer.
A shared rule about how a team works together 300
A working agreementWorking agreement is context-dependent team terminology; no invariant factual answer.
The belief that another person will do what is expected 400
TrustChecked against:
Trust is the belief that another person will do what is expected and is built through repeated consistency.
Source, pinned revisionA limit on work started but not yet finished 500
A work-in-progress limitChecked against:
To make sure this rule is followed Scrumban uses WIP (work in progress) limit.
Source, pinned revision
Clear Decisions
The standard used to judge whether an option succeeds 100
A decision criterionA decision criterion is the team-defined standard described by this clue; no outside source is needed.
A choice that can be changed without major cost 200
A reversible decisionA reversible decision is defined by the cost condition in this clue; no outside source is needed.
The person who makes the final call after input 300
The decision ownerThe decision owner is the team label used by this clue; no outside source is needed.
A record of a choice and the reasoning behind it 400
A decision logA decision log is the team record described by this clue; no outside source is needed.
A date set to review whether a decision still works 500
A review dateA review date is the date defined by this clue; no outside source is needed.
Final round
This meeting format asks what went well, what did not, and what the team will change.
A retrospectiveChecked against:
The term is also used in software engineering, where a retrospective is a meeting held by a project team at the end of a project or process (often after an iteration) to discuss what was successful about the project or time period covered by that retrospective, what could be improved, and how to incorporate the successes and improvements in future iterations or projects.
Source, pinned revision
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