The purpose of Retromat is to help you plan a retrospective that fits your team’s situation. It’s implied that you will vary your retrospectives – this iteration’s retro will have different activities from the next one and the one after that.
Why, though? Why not always run the same one? After all, I recommend the following retrospective for beginners. It’s a great multi-purpose retro. Why not always do that one?
Well, if you keep asking the same questions, you will keep getting the same answers. Different activities ask different questions. Even a slightly different question can get participants to think in a new way. Switching the point of view or using metaphors open up the possibility of profound change. Carefully picked activities shine a light on issues that the team was unaware of or shied away from.
That’s why it’s good practise to vary activities – not only to prevent boredom.
There are some teams who love predictability and ask to always have the same retro. When a team expresses this wish I negotiate a “for every X retros that we follow your wish, I ‘get’ one, where I pick” or something along those lines. That respects the team while making sure that I am still able to address problems and help the team grow in the retrospectives.
PS: Did you know there's a Retromat eBook Bundle? Ready-made retrospective plans for beginners and all activities from Retromat for experienced facilitators. Check out the Retromat books
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