What is Time Traveler retrospective?
The Time Traveler retrospective lets a team review a sprint from multiple time perspectives, injecting fun and positivity into planning for the next iteration. The Time Traveler retrospective is a great tool to use in the middle of a long project.
By stepping into a time traveler’s shoes and looking at the last sprint as well as what lies ahead of them, team members can benefit from creative hindsight as well as optimistic predictions.
Including a ‘Time Loop’ in the retrospective helps to remind everyone of repeating activities they enjoyed, and which contributed to reaching sprint goals.
Time Traveler retrospective format
The Past
What was one moment in the last sprint that mattered to you? What was the highlight? What was a significant lesson learnt?
The Present
What is something you are focussed on at this point in time? What puzzles you? What is the current challenge?
The Future
What would you want to see if you traveled into the future? What would be the perfect end to the next sprint? What are you looking forward to celebrating?
Time Loop
What’s something that you would do over and over again? What have you enjoyed or brought success?
Suggested icebreaker questions for Time Traveler retrospective
- What advice would you give to your “15 year old self?”
- If you could go back in time, what would you start or stop doing?
- Would you rather travel forward or back in time?
Retro Rehearsal
Apply the Time Traveler retrospective to your approach to your own or the team’s wellness.
With this theme in mind, what habits would you change?
Ideas and tips for Time Traveler retrospective
- If you’re thinking of theming a retrospective, here’s your chance. ‘Time’ can be used to inspire what the team wears, the icebreaker you choose or simply a fun retro activity.
- Looking for a way to reduce recency bias? Why not give an asynchronous retrospective a try! This will mean people can add ideas in at any time during the sprint.
- Keep your team agreements in view during your retrospective. Remember you can add to them at any time.
- Seeking to support a psychologically safe space? Switch up your retrospective to allow participants to offer their input anonymously – all voices will be heard at the same volume and ideas rather than the person who suggested them will be the focus.
- Make the most of your presentation mode and drill down into ideas at the brainstorming, grouping as well as the discussion stages of your retrospective. This will let those who contributed the input the chance to explain and feel heard.
- Speaking of time – use a Return on Time Invested (ROTI) tool to monitor the effectiveness of your meeting.
How to run Time Traveler retrospective in TeamRetro
Start your retrospective in a click
Log into TeamRetro and choose your sprint retrospective template.
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.