Output! is a serious continuous improvement game for developing continuous improvement skills in individuals and change-resistant organizations.
Designed from the bottom-up as a completely free game, all you need to start playing is a problem, something that needs solving. Then, by identifying a series of inputs (like a newsletter, an upper management meeting, or a mass email), and specific actions (such as giving a brief, engaging external stakeholders, or sharing new software), teams develop solutions to reach the desired output.
Just like in real life, however, adding inputs and undertaking actions costs resources. The goal isn’t just to solve the problem with an effective output—success means using your tools as efficiently as possible.
In playing, the game exercises three core skills:
Creative Problem-Solving: By thinking through difficult challenges and articulating solutions, teams learn to share information and cooperatively brainstorm while individuals apply critical thought to tough issues.
Solution Efficiency: The game emphasizes efficiency of actions and resources when developing solutions, encouraging players to solve the problem with as few inputs and actions as possible.
Logical Presentation: By pitching their combined solution, individuals and teams explain how they reached their conclusion and why it makes sense for the organization, building key skills for achieving buy-in and adoption.
After an allotted time (for some extra pressure!) or when the team or teams are happy with their solutions, they must pitch it to the rest of the group. The team that presents the most well-reasoned solution while using the fewest resources wins!
Each game is simple:
The instructor, facilitator, or designated player identifies the Output—the problem to solve or the desired outcome.
Each team is distributed 31 resources.
To meet the Output, teams introduce up to six (6) Inputs and attach up to six (6) Actions to each Input—if it makes logical sense.
If your Input was to “run a drill”, it wouldn’t make sense for one of the attributed actions to be “re-write legal policy”— unless, of course, for your team or business it does!
After an allotted time, or when all teams are ready, each team must pitch their solution to the rest of the group.
The team that presents the most well-reasoned, realistic solution while using the fewest resources wins!
The best part? Output! is completely free.
You can download it right now at the link below:
Contains standard, printer-friendly, and PDF fillable versions of the forms
Some important considerations:
Teams should be thoughtfully balanced with a mix of practical experience and varying levels of continuous improvement knowledge.
No extra resources may be given—scarcity is part of the challenge!
Emphasis should remain on realism, where solutions reflect plausible innovations for the context.
There is no single “correct” solution; brainstorming, discussion, and creativity are the point.
