How to Run an Engaging Online Sprint Retrospective
If you’re a Scrum Master and are accustom to working with teams in-person, the idea of a virtual Sprint Retrospective may appear as utter blasphemy. I mean, what’s a Sprint Retrospective without sticky notes?
While I understand your skepticism (trust me, I was skeptical at one point too), I want to ensure you that it’s possible for a virtual Sprint Retrospective to be just as effective as an in-person one, all it takes is a bit of creative thinking and resourcefulness.
In this blog post I’ll be discussing some of the challenges of facilitating a fully virtual Sprint Retrospective and providing tips and tricks on how I was able to overcome those obstacles.
A Few Upfront Tips 💡
If you can use video, do it! Being on video with your team can not only make you all feel a bit closer, but also can help with overall communication and meeting engagement.
Familiarize yourself with any digital tools you will be using. There are many amazing online tools for collaboration and communication, but unless you know how to use them, those tools won’t provide much value to you and your team. Before you meet with your team, make sure that you familiarized yourself with any digital tools you will be using and prepare to assist with any technical difficulties the team may have.
Allow your team the opportunity to familiarize themselves with any digital tools they will be asked to use. It’s important to avoid your team having to figure out how to use a new tool or platform during the meeting. Being put on the spot to understand and use something new can be stressful, frustrating, and confusing so ensure that your team is given the opportunity to explore any digital tools they will be asked to use in advance of the meeting.
How to Get Everyone Involved
My biggest concern when it came to hosting a virtual Sprint Retrospective was having a lack of team member engagement. When a group of people are in a room together, they cannot mute themselves or turn off their video; this enables me as a facilitator, to identify the people who are quiet or disengaged and encourage them to participate by asking them a question or simply looking in their direction while speaking. On the other hand, facilitating a virtual meeting can be like talking to an empty room. While a facilitator may be able to figure out who isn’t participating, it can be difficult and even awkward to try and get those people to engage in the conversation.
When I was planning my first completely virtual Sprint Retrospective I knew that I needed to find a tool that would allow team members to easily engage with the meeting and interact with each other. The tool I found is called Parabol.
Parabol is a tool that enables teams to hold interactive, actionable meetings. Parabol allows individuals to submit anonymous responses, group responses as a team, and vote on topics to discuss. What I like about Parabol is that it allows everyone to be involved in the meeting without having to feel vulnerable. Just like writing ideas on sticky notes, arranging those ideas into groups, and dot voting on discussion topics, with Parabol team members can participate in a meeting even if they aren’t comfortable speaking.
How to Create an Open Atmosphere
Something I didn’t expect when going about my first virtual Sprint Retrospective was how easy it would be to skip over the fun, social component of the meeting. I usually begin each Sprint Retrospective with a game however, when facilitating my first completely virtual Sprint Retrospective I felt awkward encouraging the team to socialize, so I skipped the fun and went straight to business. The result: a meeting that felt burdensome rather than collaborative and valuable.
I learned that while group socializing may feel less natural over the internet, it’s still important to do. Having a fun activity at the start of each Sprint Retrospective, no matter the setting, helps set the tone for the rest of the meeting and allows for a more positive and open atmosphere. So, during my next Sprint Retrospective, we played a few rounds of Google Feud. This game got people laughing and helped spark some energy that helped us work productively throughout the rest of the meeting.
Other ice-breaker activities that work well virtually include solving riddles (I particularly like TED riddles such as the one shown below), playing trivia, or choosing pictures to depict emotions.
Bonus Tip: Check out Parabol’s Social Check-in phase for a simple way to incorporate some socializing into your virtual Sprint Retrospectives.
Try It Out!
While holding a virtual Sprint Retrospective may not be the conventional or preferred way of doing things, it is possible. There are many tools and resources available that enable Scrum Masters to lead virtual Sprint Retrospectives that are engaging and actionable.
Let me know in the comments if you have any experience using the tools or techniques that I mentioned in this post and if you have any other helpful tips on how to facilitate a fully virtual Sprint Retrospective.
