Retromat: Team Retrospective Meeting: 90-97-20-125-138

Agile Values Cheer Up (#90)

Remind each other of agile values you displayed
Source: Jesus Mendez

Draw 4 large bubbles and write one of the agile core values into each:

Individuals and their interactions
Delivering working software
Customer collaboration
Responding to change

Ask participants to write down instances when their colleagues have displayed one of the values - 1 cheerful sticky note per example. In turn, let everyone post their note in the corresponding bubble and read them out loud. Rejoice in how you embody agile core values :)

#tweetmysprint (#97)

Produce the team's twitter timeline for the iteration
Source: Thomas Guest

Ask participants to write 3 or more tweets on sticky notes about the iteration they've just completed. Tweets could be on the iteration as a whole, on individual stories, a rant, or shameless self-promotion - as long as they are brief. Hash tags, emoticons, attached pictures, @usernames are all welcome. Allow ten minutes to write the tweets, then arrange them in a timeline and discuss themes, trends etc. Now invite participants to favorite, retweet and write replies to the tweets, again following up with discussion.

Perfection Game (#20)

What would make the next iteration a perfect 10 out of 10?
Source: Ben Linders

Prepare a flip chart with 2 columns, a slim one for 'Rating' and a wide one for 'Actions'. Everyone rates the last iteration on a scale from 1 to 10. Then they have to suggest what action(s) would make the next iteration a perfect 10.

Three by Three (#125)

Build on each other's ideas to create a great action item
Source: Simon Tomes

This silent brainstorming technique helps the team come up with truly creative solutions and gives quiet people equal footing:

Everyone writes 3 sticky notes with 1 action idea each
Go around the room and pitch each idea in 15 seconds
Gather all stickies so that everyone can see them
Each team member adds their name to the sticky note that inspires them the most
Take off all ideas without a name on them

Repeat this process 2 more times. Afterwards, everyone can dot vote to determine which action(s) the team is going to implement.

Debriefing Cube (#138)

Close with a reflective question from the Debriefing Cube and cards
Source: Chris Caswell and Julian Kea

A good debriefing deepens understanding, learning and sharing. Preparation: Download and assemble the Debriefing Cube and cards. During the retrospective, roll the cube. Then draw a card from the category it shows and use it to prompt a discussion. Repeat as time permits. This will broaden your debriefing options and is especially great for groups without a facilitator to enable them to effectively debrief on their own.

Created by Corinna Baldauf

Corinna wished for something like Retromat during her Scrummaster years. Eventually she just built it herself in the hope that it would be useful to others, too. Any questions, suggestions or encouragement? You can email her or follow her on Twitter. If you like Retromat you might also like Corinna's blog and her summaries on Wall-Skills.com.

Co-developed by Timon Fiddike

Timon gives Scrum trainings. He mentors advanced scrum masters and advanced product owners. Human, dad, nerd, contact improv & tango dancer. He has used Retromat since 2013 and started to build new features in 2016. You can email him or follow him on Twitter. Photo © Ina Abraham.