Introduction

Playing the role of a facilitator in a retrospective (retro) is not difficult, but the importance should not be dismissed.

As you may know, the goal of a retro is continuous improvement for the team. It should be held at regular intervals and focused on that recent timeframe or even focused more specifically on a recent or current project, event, or practice of the team. The facilitator is there to understand the goal and desired outcomes of the retrospective, and to lead the team there while making sure that the session is valuable for the team.

Retro Format

There is no single way to format a retro, but a basic “happy, meh, sad” format works well for most cases and is the default for Roivant IT retros. This works by having the team add discussion items to the retro board under the columns listed as “happy”, “meh”, and “sad” (or with corresponding emoji), of which the subject matter should be self-evident:

Happy - Things we want to celebrate or bring attention to which have worked well.

Meh - Something that just needs discussion but isn’t inherently good or bad, such as wondering about the status of a particular initiative, questions about work being done, temperature checks on recent happenings, etc.

Sad - Something that did not go well or was otherwise problematic in some way that we need to address. These are usually where we collect action items because the problems are what we want to fix to improve the team and our work.

Each topic should have a chance to be voted on (+1) in order to make sure we’re talking about the most relevant topics first, not just whatever was added at the top.

Running the Distributed Team Retro

  1. Make sure everyone is invited to the retro and has access to the retro board and the zoom call. You should have created a new tab in the retro sheet with a blank board and the previous action items copied over.

  2. Find someone to be the timekeeper. Their role will be to set a 5-minute timer for each topic that is discussed, and to let the group know when the time is up. The group can decide to add more time if needed, otherwise the topic should lead to an action item or be added to the parking lot for later discussion. You can be the timekeeper as well, but it can be too much for newer facilitators to juggle.

  3. When the meeting starts, remind folks of the overall subject or the time frame we’re discussing, and encourage them to add topics to the board. They should also vote on any others they would like to prioritize. This should take 5-10 minutes, or ideally be done beforehand.

  4. The facilitator then kicks off the discussions by starting with the highest voted topic, otherwise picking the topic of their choice.

  5. When the time is up or there is a clear conclusion to the discussion, work with the group to write down the action items and find one person or a pair to “own” following through on them.

  6. From there, pick the next topic. Rinse and repeat.

  7. At the end of the retro, thank everyone for being there and participating, and share the action items in our team Slack channel for visibility. This could also be a good opportunity to review older action items if time allows.

Basic Facilitator Tips

Keep the meeting on track

  • Ask probing questions to make sure we’re getting to the root of the issue and building alignment on the topic.
  • Step in if needed to keep the conversation from flowing off-topic or down rabbit roles.
  • If it seems to be too big to fit into the time limit of a given topic, add it to the parking lot to be discussed with relevant team members later.

Create an environment where people feel safe and welcome to speak up

  • Direct the flow of the conversation so that it is not dominated by a singular voice and making sure everyone who wants to speak can.
  • Encourage ideas and openness and prevent the conversation from being personal and/or defensive.
  • Call on participants who haven’t had a chance to speak recently.
  • Note: Psychological safety is important for an effective retro!

Take clear notes of the resulting action items

  • Avoid ambiguity after the retro has concluded; make sure they are visible for everyone in the team, both attendees and non-attendees.

Focus on topics that produce actions

  • Spend time focusing on the “sad” and “meh” columns; “happy” topics are great, and we love them, but they often don’t result in action items.
  • Ending with “happys” or sprinkling them in after a heated discussion can be a good way to bring things back to focus and keep morale up.