Now that we are working from home more often, we need new fun ways to do retrospectives remotely. Many teams always use the same way for a retrospective. Sometimes this makes retrospectives less effective. Here are a few retrospective ideas for remote teams. But first! What is a retrospective and why is it important? The retrospective is the most important meeting of the scrum process. It is the meeting where the team evaluates how the sprint went and improves their own process. It’s also a meeting where they can discuss how they are working without distraction. Making their own decisions makes the team feel responsible for achieving the planned sprints
Idea 1: I love, I wish
The framing of these prompts allows your team to keep a positive mindset. Even when putting forth challenges and problems to discuss. Use online retrospective tools to make 2 columns. Write these two statements at the top of each column. I love…, I wish… This way the team can brainstorm about what they loved and what they wished.
Idea 2: Retrospectives against humanity
This idea gets his inspiration from the game; Cards Against Humanity. A popular game where players fill in the blanks. In this retro, one question gets asked at a time.
- The best part about our team is …
- This sprint was going great until …
- Our velocity is …
- When … happens, we should celebrate!
Idea 3: Pride, Wish, Appreciate, Hope
Like the I love, I wish retro, this keeps everyone aligned in a positive way, while adding an extra layer of applause! It’s a great opportunity for managers to give a personal thumbs up to everyone on the team.
- What I’m proud we did
- What I wish hadn’t happened
- What I appreciated from others
- What I hope we do
Idea 4: Room for improvement
Sometimes we go into a retro knowing full well that the last sprint was a mess. It happens, we’re human! This format helps the team frame what happened and why in a way that’s constructive and looks toward the future.
- Things we lacked
- Lessons learned
- Ideas for the future
Idea 5: How do you feel?
This is a fun format that uses emoji’s which can shared in the chat. Using one topic at a time. Ask the team to use an emoji that represents how they feel about the question. When using this tip be cautious not to invite “false positives”. Organize your questions in a way people still have an opportunity to bring op difficult topics or challenges.