Tips & tricks

Add any simple tips you have for improving retrospectives. Can be generated by running a Retrospective Surgery.

• Split into small groups to narrow down actions (helps with large teams or with quiet members)
• Use a space without a table
• Have a backlog of retrospective actions with done / not done next to them
• Write the output on a flip chart and stick it up in the workspace where all can see
• Location, location, location - find a good spaces and mix it up so not always in same place
• Write up the retrospective output including actions and put on a blog/wiki or send round in an email
• Forward-specting - what can we start doing now
• Do a 'warm up' exercise to break down any tension and get people in the mood (see below)
• Food (especially nice food like cakes & biscuits) is an excellent way to make the session more appealing and is a great leveller.
• Use a facilitator from outside the team (e.g. another team's scrum master)
• Swap the facilitation role within the team: don't let it fall to the same person (coach, scrum master) each time
• Plan your retrospectives - don't just turn up and run it the same way each time. Develop a toolbox with exercises.
• Throw away everything from the retrospective except the retrospective actions. Focus on outcomes, not problems.
• Create awareness for Retrospective Benefits

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Warmup Exercise - Sprint Draw & Guess

A fun 10 minute warmup. I don't know the source of this, so am happy to be corrected.

Ingredients:

• X index cards per team member, where X is the total number of people within the dev team
• Sharpies or pens
• A pair of phones to use as countdown timers

Method:

• Give each person index cards and a sharpie/pen
• Each person should write 1 to X in the top left corner of the index cards, front to back
• If team size is even, each person has 1 minute to draw (without using words) how they felt the previous sprint went
• If team size is odd, each person has 30 seconds to write down in words how they felt about the previous sprint
• On completion, place the card at the back of the stack and pass it to the right
• The next person, looking only at the last card at the back, attempts to interpret it
  • If they see a drawing, attempt to write down what it represents
  • If they see text, draw it
• Facilitator should keep time - 1 min for drawing and 30 seconds for writing
  • Everyone should be doing the same thing
• Keep going around until you write or draw on the last card
• Once complete, lay them all out in order
• Enjoy comparing the interpretations
• Leave the index cards out during the rest of the retrospective, as a visual aid to whatever activity you have planned
  • Alternatively, if the activity planned requires index cards, just flip them over and reuse

Sounds silly, but is rather great in lightening the mood.