SCRUM Lab#SC02: Spaguetti Challenge
Lab
📘 SCRUM Lab#SC02: Spaguetti Challenge
The Agile Spaghetti Challenge Tower is an innovative team-building activity that embodies Agile principles.
- Participants work in teams to construct the tallest tower using only spaghetti and marshmallows within a time constraint.
This exercise mirrors Agile’s iterative approach, encouraging collaboration, adaptability, and quick decision-making. Teams continuously inspect and adapt their tower, incorporating feedback from short cycles to optimize performance.
The challenge emphasizes Agile values such as flexibility, communication, and incremental progress. It offers a hands-on experience for participants to grasp Agile concepts in a tangible context, fostering a deeper understanding of teamwork and Agile methodologies.
1 Introduction
1.1 The Set Up
Students work in teams of four to build the tallest tower they can using only the provided materials.
1.2 Build, Launch (and Fail!)
With only 18 minutes to build their towers, teams often follow a similar construction timeline:
- ~3 minutes: Figuring out who is in charge
- ~10 minutes: Planning
- ~4 minutes: Taping spaghetti together
- ~1 minute: Putting their marshmallow on top
- ~1 second: Watching the tower crumble under the (surprising) weight of the marshmallow