We do Scrum but…
Are you serious? — episode 35
Apparently Sprint Retrospectives should be fun! The internet is packed with all kinds of fun ideas to do the retro. Here are a few that make me cringe (this is my personal take, I am a bit sensitive about these things):
Let’s build something with Lego bricks! — build our next step!
Let’s pretend we are at the Oscars! — vote for Best Story, Most Annoying Story, The Story that Wouldn’t Stop, Best Performer, Best Supporting Performer!
Let’s make a Sprint Limerick — What fun will we have if we create it as a team!
If your team likes the more outgoing Retrospectives, then I am sure that they can have a very positive effect. However, only as long as the purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is being met.
But I firmly believe that these examples of retros run the risk to be non-inclusive. Some people probably like these outgoing types of Sprint Retrospectives, but are you sure that everyone is as enthusiastic? Aren’t you alienating them?
It always reminds me of Modern Agile’s “Make Safety a Prerequisite”. Everything starts and ends with safety. Safety to be accepted as you are, safety to be allowed to say no to things that are not for you. Sure, there should also be safety to take risks, or safety to try something out. But it should include the safety to say ‘NO’ if it is really not your thing and you appear to be the only one to dislike it.
Please note that most of the retro activities you can find aren’t this wild. But those can still put people off. It is a difficult balancing act between keeping it fun and keeping the eye on the ball, remaining focused.
If you need a fun activity to save your retros you could have a serious issue.
Does the team understand what a Sprint Retrospective is meant to achieve?
“The Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint.” — SG
Does the team have the right attitude towards the Sprint Retrospective? This includes the Scrum Master:
“When the values of commitment, courage, focus, openness and respect are embodied and lived by the Scrum Team, the Scrum pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation come to life and build trust for everyone.” — SG
The Scrum Values are important during a Sprint Retrospective, when a team retrospects itself. It is vital that the individuals within the team are committed to the retro and have the focus on it. With that in place I am convinced that there’s no need to spice things up.
My team has a similar setup for every retro. Still it doesn’t get dull. The reason is that every Sprint is different so we will have new observations every Sprint. We also have improvement items from the previous retro that might have an impact. Both change the spectrum and as a result the conversation. The team knows what to expect and this is of benefit to everyone.
I tried different types of Sprint Retrospectives. Some were a bit wilder, supposed to be fun. But most members of the Scrum Team weren’t pleased. Here are some responses I got:
“It’s like being thrown back to kindergarten. Are you taking me seriously?”
“I like the old way of doing retros. They were consistent, transparent and as a result effective. I dislike this particular one.”
I must say I agreed. We tried out some of the more lighthearted retros, but the team decided they didn’t want them.
Bottom line
You should not need to depend on the fun factor or changing formats to be effective. This could even hint towards bigger issues with your team’s Sprint Retrospectives. Sure, it can be good to vary in the Sprint Retrospective styles, but keep in mind that overdoing it may have the opposite effect than intended.
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