{"id":1234,"date":"2025-05-13T11:22:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T09:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retromat.org\/blog\/?p=1234"},"modified":"2025-05-13T11:26:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T09:26:30","slug":"14-why-vary-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/retromat.org\/blog\/14-why-vary-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"14. Why vary activities?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[This post is part of Corinna’s Guide to Facilitating Retrospectives<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hello friend!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of Retromat is to help you plan a retrospective that fits your team\u2019s situation. It\u2019s heavily implied that you will vary the activities: this iteration\u2019s retro will have different activities from the next one and the one after that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why, though? Why not always run the same one?<\/strong> After all, I shared the best retrospective for beginners<\/a> with you. It\u2019s a great multi-purpose retro \u2013 why not stick to it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First off, you can absolutely do that. There\u2019s no law against always using the same format, especially to become comfortable before moving on. There are teams that hands-down prefer<\/em> that. Fewer moving parts, everyone knows what\u2019s coming \u2013 it does reduce friction while running the retro. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having said that, sometimes friction is what you want. Well, not friction per se, but making people stop in their tracks and think about things in a new way<\/strong>. If you keep asking the same questions, you will keep getting the same answers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different activities ask different questions and sometimes even a slight variation can get participants to think about something differently. Switching the point of view<\/a> or using metaphors<\/a> can open up the possibility for profound change. Carefully picked activities<\/a> shine a light on issues that the team was unaware of or shied away from addressing on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, for every team out there that likes to keep things the same, there is also one that gets bored by repetition and asks for a crazy new activity each time. Which kind of team are you facilitating for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, I haven\u2019t really had a team that wanted to always follow the same plan. (Probably because the inner loop<\/a> stays the same 99% of the time. My retros look like more variation than they actually are in terms of new actions and behaviors I\u2019m asking of the participants during the retro).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I did have a team that wanted to stick to the same plan, I would fulfill their request as long as they still get value out of their retrospectives. Once that is not the case anymore, I\u2019d announce a change of plans to avoid stagnation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d also negotiate a \u201cfor every X retros that we follow your wish, I get 1, where I pick\u201d type of deal so that I<\/em> don\u2019t die of boredom. But largely, I do see myself as providing a service and will respect the team\u2019s wishes as long as they still address problems and the team improves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a minute:
<\/strong>What does your team prefer, variety or the familiar?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next week, we\u2019ll look at Tuckman\u2019s stages and how they can help you tailor retros for your team,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all the best,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corinna<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PS: It is actually a good idea to have a \u201cgo-to retro plan\u201d. If I\u2019m asked to facilitate on short notice (usually for a team I don\u2019t know that well), I fall back on two plans that I can facilitate at the drop of a hat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PS: If you'd rather read this Guide as an ebook, click here.<\/a> Or go all in and get it as part of the Retromat eBook Bundle<\/a> at a discount. A purchase also supports Retromat as a whole \ud83d\ude42<\/strong><\/h3><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is part of Corinna’s Guide to Facilitating Retrospectives] Hello friend! The purpose of Retromat is to help you plan a retrospective that fits your team\u2019s situation. It\u2019s heavily implied that you will vary the activities: this iteration\u2019s retro will have different activities from the next one and the one after that.  Why, though? … <\/p>\n

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