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FSNP, Tuckman's Model

Definition

FSNP (Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing) is a concept from BW Tuckman’s 1965 paper “Developmental sequence in small groups” from the Psychological Bulletin. It is a widely recognized framework for understanding group development and dynamics. The model describes how groups evolve over time through four distinct stages: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. In 1977, Tuckman added a fifth stage, Adjourning, to address the disbandment of the group. This model is invaluable for understanding team behavior, improving group dynamics, and enhancing team performance.

Importance in Game Design

If a professional game intends to take a team through the initial four stages, the transition from where each stage is relevant should be reasonably clear, and the available time should be foregrounded, as happens in Evivve.
If the professional game is designed for repeated play, as Evivve is, it must be easy for the facilitator to compare how a team went through the different stages in comparison to the previous and subsequent playthroughs.
Similar to the above point, if a team is notably unsuccessful at the aim of the game, does the game give them the opportunity to start the FSNP process again? Also, can the players determine if their lack of success is due to poor execution in the Performing or Norming stages, too fierce disagreement in the Storming stage, or poor communication and role choices in the Forming stage?

Relevance to Evivve’s Ecosystem

Best Practices

Challenges and Considerations

History

Relevance to Evivve’s Ecosystem

All Evivve sessions are followed up with analyses of how players performed, and what that indicates for them as individuals, as well as for the team as a whole. Evivve's Group Dynamic Reports puts the players’ performance into the context of the FSNP model.
Evivve is specifically designed to take players rapidly through these stages. This means that a team’s ability in each stage can be assessed.
It should be expected that an established team of business colleagues would be practiced in proceeding through these stages, but Evivve gives teams and their managers an opportunity to examine that ability in a concentrated environment with clear and easily assessed goals.

Best Practices

Don’t assume that the team will clearly leave one stage and enter the next, in synchronization with the relevant stages within a particular playthrough of the game.
Allow the players to disagree in the storming stage, while keeping the game and discussion on track.
See if the players manage to reach the Performing stage by the time they’re due to buy land, so they can make the best use of their 365 days. Alternatively, if their chosen distribution of roles isn’t working, do they take an opportunity during the game to quickly revisit the Forming stage and take on new roles?
Tuckman's FSNP Model is a valuable tool for anyone working with or within teams, offering insights into the natural progression of group development and strategies for fostering effective collaboration and performance.

Challenges and Considerations

Putting a team through the FSNP process, required to play Evivve, can be intense. Ensure that as a facilitator or a player, you bring your best self to the game, so that team-based issues can be identified more easily. Conflict is a natural part of group development, particularly during the Storming stage. Successfully managing and resolving conflict is crucial for progressing to subsequent stages.
The difference between revisiting the Forming stage to reassess roles, and clarifying roles in the Storming stage, can be unclear.
The goals in Evvive are clear to the players. This is to enable a clear focus by the facilitator on how well players understand the mechanics of the scenario and how to use them, and on how well players proceed through the FSNP stages.