Whether this is your busiest time of year, or a reflective period, here’s a little present from us to you: a seasonal retrospective template with icebreaker and closing activity.
Use the template as it is, or add more snow, bells and holly!
How to use the Christmas Retrospective
Icebreaker – How are you feeling?
Choose from a range of festive moods – are you feeling like a sleepy Santa, or a sassy Scrooge? Perhaps this week has you fired up like an energized reindeer?!
Night before Christmas Retrospective
Have the team complete each section of the retrospective with private sticky notes, then reveal and discuss!
- What were our gifts? What good presents did you receive? What ‘unexpected’ presents did you receive?
- Who were our helpers? Who were the magical elves helping our team? How could they help us next time?
- What was our Grinch? If the Grinch were to ruin our Christmas (next sprint), what would they do? How can we stop them?
A Christmas Carol – Year in Summary
- Ghost of Christmas Past – Write one regret from the past year, and choose whether to share it or not. Once everyone has written their regret and chosen to share it (or not), then proverbially ‘rip it up’ by drawing all over it with the marker pen or reaction tool.
- Ghost of Christmas Present – Write down some things you appreciate about your team, job, processes, tools, or organization, and share them with everyone.
- Ghost of Christmas Future – Write out at least one goal you have for the next year that you are comfortable sharing with the team.
Tip – it is essential to have the Christmas decorations switched on, though you can turn them off with the setting ‘Scrooge Mode’.