# Paper Tower — Debrief Sheet

> 8 questions, 3 failure modes, one rule: the tower is the transcript.
> Use with `paper-tower-guide.md`. Debrief runs 10–15 min after the book test.

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## How to run this debrief

- Keep every tower standing through the whole debrief. Point at them, don't describe them.
- Ask questions **to one team first**, then to the room. Start with the shortest tower that survived the book, or the tallest one that didn't.
- Write answers on this sheet or on the back of the judge card — teams keep them.

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## The 8 questions

**1. The plan on paper.**
"What did your team plan in the silent three minutes — and what actually survived contact with the tape?"
→ Targets: planning vs. improvising. Most teams abandon the sketch by minute seven.

**2. Hands and voices.**
"Whose hands were on the tower, and whose voices were around the table? Were they the same people?"
→ Targets: participation structure. The tape-holder who never spoke is the finding.

**3. The lean.**
"When the tower started to lean, what did your team do first — diagnose, or build faster?"
→ Targets: recovery behavior. "Build faster" under pressure is the daily default.

**4. Height vs. the book.**
"Your tower chose height or stability before you knew the book was coming. Where does your team make that same bet on real projects?"
→ Transfer question. Expect: features vs. tests, launch scope, tech debt.

**5. The one change.**
"If you could restart with one change — materials, roles, or plan — which single change would you make?"
→ Commitment question. Make it singular — one change survives Monday.

**6. The silent teammate.**
"To the quietest builder: what did you see that the team didn't ask about?"
→ Perspective question. Ask this gently; it usually surfaces the best observation in the room.

**7. The other towers.**
"Which other team's tower taught you something? What was it?"
→ Cross-team learning. Breaks the silo the grouping rule built on purpose.

**8. The daily version.**
"Where in your actual week does your team build 'as tall as possible, as fast as possible' — and where is your book test?"
→ Closing question. It ends the debrief on their own deadlines, not on paper.

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## 3 known failure modes of the debrief itself

1. **The collapse becomes comedy.** A dramatic collapse gets laughs; the room wants the blooper reel.
   Rescue: laugh once, then stand next to the fallen tower and ask question 3. The wreckage is the exhibit.

2. **Blame lands on the builder.** "If only Alex had folded the base…"
   Rescue: reframe — "the tower is 20 sheets of evidence about a *team*, not a person." Question 2 is the pivot.

3. **Winners disengage.** The winning team thinks the debrief is for the losers.
   Rescue: ask them question 7 first. Winners analyzing other towers is the strongest close.

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If you are running the pre/post measure (`paper-tower-assessment.json`), note these observables during the build — they justify the delta in the report:

| Observable | Points to |
|---|---|
| Team sketches before touching tape | Shared planning habit |
| Roles named out loud in minute one | Role clarity |
| A silent member's idea gets built | Information flow |
| After a collapse: pause, then a changed approach | Recovery from failure |

The report your participants receive is a self-comparison, never a team ranking — keep it that way when you present it.