Creative and energetic activity that is helpful when introducing collaborative design, lean development, and customer-centred design. This is also useful for reinforcing concepts such as cross-functional teams, collaboration and incremental delivery.

The group is split into two (or more) teams and everyone is assigned a role to create a zoo model with playdough and craft material. The winner is the team with the most points for their zoo model at the end of the third iteration. You need a minimum of 9 people and this activity works well with larger groups.

Watch the video

Preparation

1. Find 1 or more volunteers to act as ‘Customers’ and give them instructions:
   • To determine their vision before the first iteration — make their preferences clear in their heads (eg ‘my ideal zoo has a lot of large animals and lots of greenery’).
   • Increase their availability to the teams throughout the iterations (ie sit in a corner and only reply to questions if asked in the first iteration, and mingle and proactively share information in the last).
2. Set the space up for each team with paper, pens, foam or cardboard, playdough and plenty of craft material.
3. Write down the safety and point rules (and later on put them up and make them visible throughout the session):
   • An animal must be inside a closed enclosure.
     Predators & prey must be inside different enclosures (eg lions and giraffes cannot be in the same enclosure).
   • For a zoo to be considered open there has to be a gate and at least 1 animal.
   • The team gets 1 point for each animal.
4. Write down the rules specific to each of the 3 iterations (described in the steps below).

Steps

1. Split into similar sized teams, with at least 4 people in each team. These are the Zoo Building Teams.
2. Ask each Zoo Building Team to appoint a minimum of 2 people as Planners. Everyone else is a Builder.
3. Introduce the goal — become the most successful zoo, by getting the most points over 3 iterations.
4. Introduce the Safety and Points rules (see above in Preparation) that apply for every iteration.
5. Tell the group they will have a 5-minute iteration that includes 3 phases; planning, handover and building. These cannot be overlapped.
6. Introduce the rules for iteration 1:
   • There are 3 phases; Planning, Handover and Building, and these phases cannot be overlapped.
   • Only Planners can create a plan
   • Only paper and pen can be used for the plan (craft material can only be used for building).
   • Builders can only ask questions about the plan during the handover (not during planning or building).
   • Builders must follow the plan.
7. Ask the Builders to step away so that they cannot hear the Planners’ conversation
8. The Planners start creating a plan and ask the Builders to come back once they are done.
9. Give the teams a heads up half-way through the iteration and stop after 5 minutes.
10. Do a safety inspection. If a zoo does not follow the safety rules, the zoo is closed and no points are given.
11. For any open zoo, the customer(s) pick their favourite and reward 2 points per customer.
12. Count the number of animals and write down the result.
13. Give the team 3 minutes to retrospect.
14. Introduce the rules for iteration 2:
    • Only Planners can create the plan, but Builders can listen in and ask questions at any time.
    • Everyone must follow the plan, it cannot be changed during the build.
    • Planners can help in building, but only using their non-prominent hand (reflecting that they are not expert builders).
15. Give the team 5 minutes for planning and building.
16. Repeat the safety inspection, customer voting and animal counting steps and let them retrospect on the iteration.
17. Introduce the rules for iteration 3:
    • Anyone can participate in making the plan and it can be changed during the iteration.
    • Planners can help in building and can use their prominent hand (as they have been up-skilled in iteration 2).
18. Repeat the safety inspection, customer voting and animal counting steps.
19. Tally up the numbers and announce the winner.
20. Debrief.

Debrief

Extra tips

What you need

Creator

Variation of Play-Doh Zoo by Cathie Hagen, Marie-Claire Dean and Megan Cook