one timer – Search Engine Optimisation is complex

The interchangeability of team members is another factor that can influence the decision about the size of microteams.For instance,if the theme of the Hackathon is Let’s find a new layout for our blog posts,and if your team is characterized by a high degree of specialization,you might want to have teams made up of one business analyst,one graphic designer,and one copywriter.If specialization is not an issue in your team,then you have more freedom in forming microteams.I know it is reassuring to work with someone we are used to working with,but breaking this habit can lead to surprisingly innovative results.All microteams will work on the same activity for the length of the time box you chose.Wind up the timer for all the microteams participating in the Hackathon.For each Pomodoro,you will announce when the first 5 minutes have passed,when half a Pomodoro is over,and when there are only 5 minutes remaining.Yes,I know,this is the first time I have used one timer for all the teams.In fact,this is the only situation in which I would recommend synchronizing the Pomodoro when working in a team.Because I want to protect the Pomodoro breaks in a context characterized by challenge,complexity,and urgency.People like challenges and,especially at their first Pomodoro Hackathon,might think that they can work through four Pomodoros or more with no breaks.Your role is to remind them of the purpose of the Pomodoro breaks.The challenge is okay,but we don’t want to feel exhausted after four Pomodoros!We want to feel in control and lucid during every Pomodoro.You want to help them.Forcing them to take real breaks in this kind of challenge is helpful.Announce the winner.At the end of the time box you assigned for the Hackathon,the Jury assesses every microteam’s solution,and selects thebest one.I usually set one Pomodoro for the Jury to assess the solutions and one Pomodoro for them to show the winning solution to the participants.But my favorite scenario is the one where the Jury comprises all the Hackathon’s participants.In this case,in the first Pomodoro,each microteam can quickly present their solution,and in the second Pomodoro the microteams assess and vote for the best solution.Why do I like this scenario?First,because all participants in the Hackathon can have a shared knowledge of the solution to be implemented,and second,because more often than not this is the moment when new ideas emerge that improve on the solution that was found.Of course success is not guaranteed.What if no effective solution has been found in the time box you set for your Pomodoro Hackathon?You can then simply organize another round.If this is the case,though,give the teams a longer break.For the first round of the Hackathon,I would not recommend rotating coworkers between microteams.However,in any subsequent rounds,it is a good idea to swap members.In my experience,it is often the microteams that do not look like a good match on paper that end up producing the most creative results.When your team feels stuck and needs an immediate,innovative solution to an often complex problem,being able to have and compare several solutions is incredibly valuable.The disadvantage is that all the microteams involved in the Pomodoro Hackathon are unable to work on their current activities.I remember reading the description of this,the simplest war machine,by the Roman architect and writer Vitruvius in his work On Architecture.In Roman times,almost no fortification could withstand it.If a copy of On Architecture should ever come your way,it is definitely worth a read.Today,the walls we face are the seemingly impenetrable problems that prevent us from reaching our goals.Our battering ram is our ability to generate and apply a variety of solutions.Every new idea we test on the problem is like a blow of the ram hitting the wall.When you feel stuck in front of that wall,encountering another person’s perspective increases the chances of coming up with a new idea.The more times we can repeat this process with new people,the more likely it is that the wall will be unable to withstand our blows and we will reach our goal.Each of the four pairs is working on a different activity.The microteam working on it is struggling and has no idea how to proceed.Completing this activity is essential if the whole team is to reach its goals.Their work cannot be interrupted.Microteam #1 has tried repeatedly,but unsuccessfully,to complete the activity.It seems necessary to find a way to apply the collective intelligence and problem solving abilities of the whole team to this problem.Such a practice is particularly useful to complete activities on time in order to avoid creating bottlenecks for the rest of the team.Microteams #2 and #3 can swap from the next Pomodoro,whereas Microteam #4 prefers to swap after two Pomodoros.At each Pomodoro there will be a new coworker.At each Pomodoro,the ram will hit harder and harder,battering down the problem that needs solving.In the first five minutes of the Pomodoro,Katrin from Microteam #1 explains the difficulty they are facing to the new coworker.In the final 5 minutes of the Pomodoro,Katrin will ask her coworker for feedback.The person responsible for Activities #2,#3,and #4 goes through the same process of taking 5 minutes to get the new coworker up to speed and the last 5 minutes to get feedback from them.If after the first Pomodoro the problem has still not been resolved,the person responsible for the activity remains and the next rotation shown in the roster takes place.Annalena replaces Stephan and starts workingwith Katrin.Simply,the person responsible for the activity stays put and the other people rotate around.In microteams made up of more than two people,it is advisable to rotate no more than one person at a time.In this example,Katrin drew up a roster based on three Pomodoros.Whathappens if this is not enough to solve the problem?If necessary,the person responsible for the activity can apply the Practice of the Ram again.The person responsible for the activity where the problem has arisen is able to explain the issue to the team members and,with their help,quickly come up with a roster.In this case,the Pomodoros under way in each microteam keep ticking.If the interruption has not been managed and the roster is not ready within 30 seconds,the people responsible for the activities must void their Pomodoros.Thirty seconds might seem too short to manage the process of explaining a problem and drawing up a roster.Practice makes it possible.The person who asks for help only interrupts when they are sure they can describe the problem in one sentence.At a request for help,the other microteams immediately interrupt their work and focus on that request.The coworkers working in the other microteams who think they can help with the problem immediately convey their willingness to volunteer.The people in charge of those microteams can benefit from swapping coworkers,because this can lead to the sharing of knowledge.The disadvantage of this practice is that it requires interrupting all the team members in the various microteams.Here are some observations that have emerged from the experience of people and teams that have applied the Pomodoro Technique.Mastering the technique takes from 7 to 20 days of constant application.When it is used by pairs or teams,it’s easier to implement the technique consistently.Experience shows that applying the technique in teams or organizing work in pairs results in a shorter learning time and more consistent results.In these cases,each pair works with its own Pomodoro.The Pomodoro has to represent an effective atomic measure of work.The problem is that,as everyone knows,all time is not equal in terms of the output of effort.December is shorter in terms of the number of productive days,and so is August in Mediterranean countries.We don’t make the same effort in every week.Not every hour produces the same amount of effort,mostly because of interruptions.As a unit of measure,much smaller time intervals such as 10 minutes may not be interrupted,but they don’t allow us to achieve appreciable results,and tracking becomes too intrusive.Thus,as far as this first force is concerned,half an hour seems to be ideal.In the light of these two forces,we’ve come to consider the ideal Pomodoro to be 20to 35 minutes long,40 minutes at the most.In various work groups that experimented with the Pomodoro Technique in mentoring activities,each team was allowed to choose the length of its own Pomodoro on the condition that that choice be based on observations of effectiveness.Breaks at the end of a set should last from 15 to 30 minutes.For example,if you’ve kept up an intense rhythm throughout the day,at the end of the next to last set of Pomodoros your break will naturally last 25 minutes.If you’re especially tired,it’s possible and even beneficial to lengthen the breaks between sets every so often.But breaks that consistently exceed 30 minutes can interrupt the rhythm between sets of Pomodoros.More important,this sets off an alarm signaling the need for rest and free time.It would be a serious mistake to take shorter breaks between sets because you’re under pressure.Your mind needs time to integrate old information and get ready to receive new information to solve the problems in the next Pomodoro.Taking a shorter break because you’re in a rush could lead to a mental block in finding solutions.For beginners,once the last Pomodoro in the set of four is up,it’s a good idea to set the timer for 25 minutes and start the break.The aim here isn’t to impose 25 minutes rigidly but to ensure that you don’t go over 30 minutes of break time.This should be done only at the beginning.In time,you’ll realize how tired you are and understand when you’re refreshed and ready to start again.The same can be said for breaks between Pomodoros,which should be no less than 3 to 5 minutes.When you’re especially tired,you can stop working for up to 10 minutes.Remember,though,that downtime between Pomodoros that consistently lasts more than 5 to 10 minutes can break the rhythm between Pomodoros.The best way to manage your resources is to work strategically,first by increasing the breaks between sets and then by extending the breaks between Pomodoros if necessary.