Ground Rules help with team formation. The activity is especially useful for collectively deciding and writing down the team ground rules. Discussing ground rules after problems arise is much more difficult.
Running the activity:
- Create the empty canvas with the ground rules elements:
* Process: How the activities will be carried out;.
* Norms: Ways in which team members will interact with each other. - Ask participants to write down the rules they feel really strongly about (e.g. Norm – everyone should keep Skype open while in the office).
- Discuss among the group and decide about each rule.
It is quite common to define ground rules before playing a game. When rules are defined or changed after the game starts, people get uncomfortable and may consider it unfair. Likewise, define team norms and processes while the team is still being formed.
In some situations, you might see yourself in the middle of a game and rules are not clear at all. Stop and define the ground rules.
Remote-team advice: This activity works well for remote teams. Use a remote board of your choice.