⛵️ Speedboat | Toolbox #3

3 min readJun 29, 2021

All in the same boat!

Risk management isn’t the most fun part of a project, but it’s essential. Lack of resources, lack of time, lack of budget… the risks of a project failing are numerous.

To successfully complete a project, all collaborators must share the same objectives but also know the path to follow.

For this, there is a simple activity to implement : the Speedboat.

Fun and visual, it’s a collaborative game that helps identify strengths and weaknesses of a project and co-construct an action plan. The boat metaphor is quite telling: everyone is part of the journey!

🧠 Who: a team
📆 When: at the launch of a project (or during the project => continuous improvement)
⏰ Duration: 1h15
🎯 Objectives: evaluate the brakes and obstacles, identify the levers for action and avenues for improvement, validate the understanding of the objectives collectively

The template

1️⃣ Workshop presentation 🎯 (5 min)

Before you begin, explain the rules to participants:

“Imagine you’re on a boat, sailing to a paradise island. Although the wind is pushing the boat toward the island, the anchor is slowing it down and there are dangers along the way.”

⛵ The boat represents the team/the project.
🏝️ The island represents the goals to be achieved .
💨 The wind represents the elements that move the team forward. — “What boosts us?”
⚓ The anchor represents the things that are holding your team back. — “What can stop us from moving forward?”
🗻 The reef represents the potential future obstacles. — “What can go wrong?”

2️⃣ Idea generation💡 (10 min)

Each participant fills in their post-its (or by group). Set a minimum and maximum number of ideas. Set a post-it color for each item to make it easier to share ideas:

🏝️ = 🟩
💨 = 🟦
⚓ = 🟧
🗻 = 🟥

3️⃣ Pooling 🧠 (30 min)

Now it’s time for interaction! Participants will take turns placing their post-its on the board and talk about their ideas.

4️⃣ Discussion 🗣 (30 min)

Once everyone has placed their post-its, some points will naturally stand out among the others. Others will require discussion. Then look for solutions collectively:

“How can we avoid these obstacles?”
“What strategy should we adopt to limit the barriers?”

During the project

Throughout the project or at the end of the sprints (during retrospectives), you can use the Speedboat in your continuous improvement loop: take stock on what has enabled the team to move forward, the problems encountered and possible improvements.

No matter what your project or sector of activity, the Speedboat will easily adapt to your situation. This workshop will allow participants to share the same vision and each person to feel concerned by the success of the project.