Agenda
The Goldilocks Principle: Right-Sizing Process for Growing Teams
Every growing game studio faces the same paradox: too little process creates chaos, but too much kills creativity and velocity. This session provides a practical framework for finding the "just right" amount of structure at each stage of your team's growth. NYT Games is a team that has grown rapidly since the acquisition of Wordle in 2022. Learn the techniques we've used to balance the growth of our processes with the growth of our team.
We'll explore a practical framework for identifying the five distinct growth phases your team will experience and the specific process needs of each stage. Learn to spot the warning signs that you've outgrown your current systems and recognize the key triggers that demand evolution.
The session introduces the "Goldilocks Diagnostic Tool"—a straightforward method to assess whether your processes are over-engineered, missing critical structure, or hitting that productive sweet spot. Through real-world examples from the team that brings you your favorite puzzle games, you'll discover how to right-size core systems like production planning, communication flows, and decision-making structures.
Leave with actionable tools: a growth-stage checklist, adaptable workflow templates, and clear strategies for evolving your studio's processes while preserving the creative culture that drives great games.
Takeaway
By session end, you'll have a clear roadmap for evolving your studio's processes in lockstep with your team growth, ensuring you maintain the agility and creativity that drives great game development while building the structure necessary for sustainable scaling.
Key Takeaways: Growth-stage checklist to identify your team's current phase and process needs, "Goldilocks Diagnostic Tool" to assess if systems help or hinder productivity, adaptable workflow templates for teams 2-75+ people, warning signs for when to evolve processes, and strategies to add structure while preserving creative culture.
Intended Audience
This session would be great for production leads, studio heads, and team managers at studios between 5-100 people who are struggling with process decisions or preparing for rapid growth phases.