Playing the Game

Preparing for the Game

Whereas most of the games can be played in a few hours, this one usually takes longer. Two or three days is common, but don't be alarmed if this technique takes as long as a week of customer interaction spread out over one to two weeks of calendar time. Part of the reason for this is that you'll want to leverage the concepts behind Start Your Day and try doing your customer's job at different times of the day. You'll also need a little extra time to move behind just the bare basics of a job. It doesn't take too long to replace the brake pads on a mountain bike. It takes quite a bit longer to replace the brake assembly. It takes even longer to replace the brake assembly on a mountain bike, a street bike, and a racing bike. Let your market experience guide how long you'll need to be an apprentice to gain an appreciation for the tasks they are trying to accomplish. Use this feedback to help you justify to your superiors the amount of time you'll need to play the game.

When selecting customers for this game, make certain that you let them know that they will be working with novices, and that these novices will be asking lots of questions about how they do their jobs. Ultimately, if possible, the apprentices will actually be performing their jobs.

Open-Ended Exploration

Time Frame of Action

Scalability

Customer Preparation

Market Preparation

Physical Preparation

Materials

As dictated by the job you and/or your team is performing.