I think retrospectives are one of the most important practices an agile team can do regularly. So naturally, when I come out to a client, this is one of the first things I try to engage the team in.

To do this effectively, we have gathered a bag with things that are good to have. We’ve assembled:
– Pens in different colours
- Sticky notes in different colours
- Whiteboard markers
- Index cards in a couple of sizes and colours
- Tape in black, red and yellow (to create boxes in a whiteboard)
- A bunch of magnets
- Squeezy balls to play with
- The “Agile Retrospectives” book by Esther and Linda
- Small colourful ninja-toys
- Thumb tack

I think it’s very important to engage people during any meeting, but especially during group-think meetings like retrospectives. Most of the activities described in normally performed in a retrospective are designed to activate everyone. Another way to do this is to do wake up the right side of peoples brain. This is where the colours and toys come in handy.

The last thing you want during a retrospective is have people feel like they are back in school, where they can just lean back and be passive. Introducing small ninja-toys is one way of saying “this is nothing like school”.

Have an effective day!