Goldilocks retrospective

Retrospective Idea – A novel way of reviewing which processes are too hot, too cold or just right.

What is the Goldilocks retrospective?

The Goldilocks retrospective is a creative sprint idea that lets your team review their processes. Participants are invited to identify things that took too much energy and time, or where there were fires to put out (Too hot), things that are working well (Just Right), and things they need to put more time or energy into (Too Cold). This way, the temperature is used as a continuum to gauge how the team operates.

Importantly, this is a chance for your team to discuss what “just right” means to them and that it is aligned with the organization.

This is a good retrospective that can be used in the early stages of a project. It can help ensure that the right processes and resources are in place for the team. It can also check that they are not being hindered by too much red tape, and are supported by the right knowledge and resources.

Goldilocks retrospective format

Too Cold

What are the things that need more energy? What processes are stuck or moving too slowly? What processes are slowing us down?

Just Right

What are the things that we should continue doing? What processes are working well and serving its purpose?

Too Hot

What are the things that we should reduce? What is causing friction or causing fires? What is taking up a lot of energy?

Retro Rehearsal

Use the Goldilocks retrospective to review the story of Goldilocks. What should be changed to bring the story up-to-date?

Ideas and tips for your Goldilocks retrospective

Rotate the Scrum Master. This will change the voices that are heard and give people a chance to contribute to the retrospective in a different way.
Use a Return on Time Invested (ROTI) tool to monitor the effectiveness of your meeting.
Keep your team agreements in view during your retrospective. Remember you can add to them at any time.
Make the most of your presentation mode and drill down into ideas at the brainstorming, grouping as well as discussion stages of your retrospective. This will let those who contributed the input the chance to explain and feel heard.

How to run a Goldilocks retrospective in TeamRetro

Start your retrospective in a click
Log into TeamRetro and choose your sprint retrospective template.

Invite your team easily – no separate accounts needed

Send an email invite, a link or add to your Slack channel to get people started quickly. SSO options are also available.

Time to brainstorm

Each team member can now brainstorm individually under each topic. This avoids group think and allows everyone to have their say. They can indicate when they have finished, or you can set a timer so that you know when to move onto the next stage.

Group related ideas

Drag and drop related ideas to combine them for easier voting. TeamRetro can also automatically suggest ideas that are similar, saving you and your team valuable time.

Vote independently to avoid anchoring

Each team member votes on what they would most like to discuss further. The results won’t be displayed to everyone until you advance to Discuss.

Discuss the most important things first
You and your team discuss the top voted ideas and can capture deep dive comments. Presentation mode allows you to walk your team through ideas one-by-one and keep the conversation focused.

Review and create actions

Easily facilitate discussion by bringing everyone onto the same page. Create action items, assign owners and due dates that will carry through for review at the next retrospective.

Share the results
Once you have finished your retro, you can share the results and actions with the team. Your retro will be stored so you can revisit them as needed.

Congratulations! You’ve just run a retro like a boss.

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