Retro meeting template walk-through:
1. Demos (20-30 min)
Kick off the meeting by having the team demo the work they did during the sprint. Whether it was fixing up some UX things on the product, building a brand new feature, or launching a campaign, give people the opportunity to showcase their work. Depending on how long your sprints are, try to set a baseline for criteria on things you can demo so that it’s not showcasing the same thing over and over again.
For example, if you’re a team that wants to see anything and everything, then set your guidelines to be anything that was worked on during the sprint. For other teams, maybe the baseline is to demo anything that was shipped and is customer-facing.
For many, this is a super exciting meeting because people are proud of the work that they put in and want to share that with the team. So, starting with demos is a great way to start off this meeting. It’s also a great time for the team to share recognition and feedback with one another on things being demoed.
2. Product acceptance and change requests (10 min)
This is when the team will review what’s been demoed, share feedback, and create next steps for actioning on suggestions. During this time, you’ll want to answer two questions:
- Does the work that was presented meet acceptance criteria and user stories?
- Is there anything that needs to be refined?
3. What went well? (5 min)
Go around the room and have everyone share what they thought went well for them this sprint.
- Was the handoff from marketing to sales more seamless this past sprint?
- Were the story points assigned to each task accurate?
- Did the team’s burndown chart look great compared to past sprints?
- Were the lines of communication more open?
4. What could have gone better? (5 min)
Go around the room again and ask the team to share some things that could have gone better. Use this information to improve processes, understand the frustrations of the team, or learn about any blockers that slowed someone down.
5. Things to look out for in the future? (5 min)
Once again, open this question up to the entire team. This time, focus on anything that the team should be aware of or look out for in the future. Think about the things that can affect the future success of your team and start proactively planning out how to overcome them.
6. Who deserves a shoutout? (5 min)
Who doesn’t love a little recognition? Open up the floor for the team to give each other praise.
- Did someone go above and beyond?
- Did someone bring in donuts to the office?
Whatever it is, make sure that you’re encouraging recognition amongst the team!
7. Demo day prep: What are we presenting? (5 min)
As a group, decide on what projects you'd like to present during your company-wide (or department-wide) demo day.
If you aren't already, consider assigning an MC every sprint. This will help foster a sense of ownership across the team!
