Cups and Straws: UWT Prototype Version

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Compare defect rates and cycle time across written handoffs, direct cross-functional talk, and embedded customer collaboration.

Use it when: Use during process improvement, agile adoption, or cross-functional workshops where teams experience siloed communication, handoff friction, or late customer feedback.

Skip it when: Skip when physical room movement is constrained, when tabletop assembly is inaccessible, or when teams cannot commit at least 60 continuous minutes.

Group arrangement: 1 to 4 production teams of 3 to 5 people (1 Procurement Specialist, 1 to 3 Fabricators, 1 Shipper/Receiver), plus 1 Customer Desk with exactly 1 Customer Inspector per production team. Handle odd group sizes by assigning extra participants as additional Fabricators at production tables or as an objective Process Observer. For example, 7 people form 1 production team of 5 (1 Procurement, 3 Fabricators, 1 Shipper), 1 Customer Inspector, and 1 Process Observer; 11 people form 2 production teams of 4, 2 Customers, and 1 Observer.

Timing: Source suggests 60 to 180 minutes. This standardized UWT run plan executes in 60 minutes.

Materials and tools

• Large plastic cups (20 per production team)
• Small plastic cups (15 per production team)
• Standard straight drinking straws, uncut (30 per production team)
• Rolls of 1-inch masking tape (1 roll per production team)
• Rulers or 20 cm marked cards (1 per production team)
• Stopwatch or phone timer (1 per Customer Inspector plus 1 for facilitator)
• Pre-built physical reference model assembled before the workshop
• Printed Role Cards (1 per person)
• Printed Customer Acceptance and Tally Sheets (3 copies per production team)
• Red silence reminder card (1 for facilitator)

Before participants arrive

1. Build the pre-workshop reference model: place two large cups upright on a flat surface exactly 20 cm apart edge-to-edge, tape two uncut straws horizontally across both rims in parallel, and balance one empty small cup on top of the straws.
2. Set up distinct room stations: one central Procurement Station (holding raw cups, straws, tape), individual Fabrication Tables for production teams, a Shipping/Receiving boundary line, and a separate Customer Desk where the reference model remains visible only to Customer Inspectors during Round 1.
3. Distribute starting production kits to each team table: 6 large cups, 4 small cups, 8 straws, 1 roll of masking tape, and 1 ruler.
4. Place printed Role Cards and Customer Acceptance and Tally Sheets at respective tables, and keep the red silence card at the facilitator station.

Say this to open

Welcome. Today we simulate procurement, assembly, shipping, and quality assurance using cups, straws, and tape. We will run three distinct rounds. In Round 1, you must follow your printed role card instructions in absolute silence without speaking or gesturing. Procurement manages parts, Fabricators build to the written specification on their cards, Shippers transfer finished units, and Customers run acceptance tests. Pick up your role cards and read your duties now.

How to run it

1. Assign roles and review specs 10 minutes

   Form production teams of 3 to 5 people and assign 1 Customer Inspector per team. Any leftover participant joins a table as an extra Fabricator or acts as a silent Process Observer. Distribute Role Cards. Clarify that the fabrication specifications are printed directly on the Fabricator Role Card. Fabricators may not view the Customer reference model during Round 1. Remind everyone that Round 1 requires absolute silence across the room.

2. Run Round 1 in silence 10 minutes

   Start the 10-minute countdown. Enforce total silence. Procurement issues raw stock from the starting kit. Fabricators assemble units using only their card specifications. Shippers carry completed bridges one at a time to the Customer Desk. Customers time the 5-second balance test, mark results on the Tally Sheet, and reject or accept units without speaking or gesturing. At time, pause assembly, log accepted counts, and dismantle rejected units to return reusable cups and straws to procurement stock.

3. Run Round 2 with open communication 12 minutes

   Announce Round 2: talking across all roles is now permitted. Shippers or Fabricators may visit the Customer Desk to inspect the physical reference model before resuming work. Teams coordinate freely to fabricate and deliver units. Customers test deliveries immediately on arrival, log results, and explain specific failure causes directly to Shippers. Stop at 12 minutes, record team accepted counts on the Tally Sheet, and replenish starting materials.

4. Run Round 3 with customer partnership and pivot 13 minutes

   Send each Customer Inspector to sit directly at their assigned team's table to advise fabrication in real time. At minute 6, sound a chime and announce an immediate market change: every deliverable must now support two empty small cups balanced side-by-side or stacked on the bridge for 5 continuous seconds. Teams must immediately adapt work in progress and all remaining shipments. Stop at 13 minutes and compile final accepted output.

5. Facilitate debrief and process takeaways 15 minutes

   Display final acceptance counts and rejection rates across rounds. Keep whole-room discussion focused by taking one observation per team. Ask Customer Inspectors what defects occurred most frequently during Round 1. Ask Fabricators how building from written text compared to collaborating directly with the customer. Ask Shippers how real-time feedback changed transport efficiency. Spend the final 4 minutes having participants identify one workplace handoff where written requirements create similar rework.

Debrief questions

• What specific defects appeared most often when teams built strictly from written requirements in Round 1?
• Fabricators: how did building from written specifications compare to having the customer sit at your table?
• Shippers: how did verbal test feedback in Round 2 alter your delivery pace and handoffs?
• Where in our actual everyday work do silent written handoffs cause similar misunderstandings or rework?

Finished output: Completed cup-and-straw bridges tested against customer criteria, along with documented Customer Acceptance and Tally Sheets tracking throughput and defect rates across all three rounds. Participants may opt out of building and contribute process notes instead.

Remote

This simulation requires physical material assembly and separated room zones. It cannot run online without changing the defining mechanic. For virtual teams, run an online process mapping or user story slice session instead, or deliver this exercise during a co-located in-person gathering.

Hybrid

Station one dedicated laptop with an elevated webcam facing the Customer Desk. Remote participants act as Remote Customer Analysts alongside the in-person Customer Inspector. The in-person Customer tests deliveries in front of the camera, holds up the timer, and reads test outcomes aloud. Remote analysts log results directly into a shared live spreadsheet projected at the front of the room. Shippers check the shared spreadsheet screen for immediate acceptance status.

Access and participation choices

• Participants can choose quality inspection, timekeeping, or tally logging roles if manual fine-motor assembly is difficult or uncomfortable.
• Any participant may decline an active simulation role to serve as an objective Process Observer without disclosing a reason.

If the session gets stuck

Participants talk, laugh, or whisper during the silent first round.

Immediately raise the red silence card and stand near the offending table. If speech continues, pause that table's production clock for 15 seconds.

A team runs out of plastic cups or straws during fabrication.

Remind the Shipper and Fabricator that rejected units can be dismantled at the table and returned to Procurement to reuse intact cups and straws.

Terms used here

• Procurement: The team role responsible for collecting, managing, and rationing raw parts from the central supply station.
• Fabrication: The physical construction and assembly of the deliverable according to technical specifications.
• Acceptance Test: The standardized physical check that a deliverable must pass before a customer accepts it.