Step 6: Get people started: One, Two, Three, Go!

Once you’re ready, start the big, visible wall timer to count down from ten minutes. Set off the first self-selection round by shouting “Go!” or blowing your whistle.

On your “Go!” people should start walking around talking to product owners and each other while thinking about which squad they want to join. To choose a squad they stick their photo into the corresponding squad diagram.

As facilitators, our greatest fear was that we’d shout “Go!” and nobody would move. David describes his experience:

That was my real point of worry: what would happen next. And what happened was that people at first moved really slowly. But they moved. At first, they just hovered by a squad and chatted to someone next to them. They weren’t doing anything at this point. They were just watching each other. There were all these empty squad diagrams on the wall, and when someone would take his picture and make a move, everyone would look up thinking, “Where’s he going? What’s that guy doing?”

Once people started to understand the process, they started talking to each other. “I’m thinking about moving to this squad. What do you think?” People were sharing their thoughts and ideas with each other. It was really great to see. It was slow at first, yes, but then they really got on with it.

We recommend each iteration last for no more than ten minutes. This is enough time for participants to have the conversations they need and to overcome any nerves about moving or selecting a squad. In addition, an efficient time slot is important to keep things moving and to make sure everyone stays focused.

At first, ten minutes may seem like not enough time, but this imposed constraint means people will be motivated to make decisions within the allotted time.

Finally, when the time is up, be strict about stopping for your first checkpoint. You may need a whistle!