The “Draw Your Sprint” retrospective is a creative and visual method used by Agile teams to reflect on their work during a sprint. This approach encourages team members to express their experiences, feelings, and insights through drawings. By using visual metaphors and imagery, the team can gain a unique perspective on their sprint, identify common themes, and discover opportunities for improvement.

Three Activities in the “Draw Your Sprint” Retrospective

1. Draw the Sprint as an Animal:
   • Activity: Each team member is asked to draw an animal that represents the sprint. The choice of animal should reflect the characteristics and dynamics of the sprint, such as its pace, challenges, and overall nature.
   • Purpose: This activity helps the team to personify the sprint, making it easier to discuss abstract concepts like teamwork, obstacles, and achievements.
2. Draw Your Face After the Sprint:
   • Activity: Team members draw their own faces to show how they felt at the end of the sprint. The expressions can convey a range of emotions, from satisfaction and pride to frustration and exhaustion.
   • Purpose: This exercise provides insight into individual feelings and morale, highlighting how the sprint impacted each team member personally.
3. Draw Our Customers Using the Sprint Output:
   • Activity: Each team member draws a picture of customers using the product or output generated during the sprint. The drawings should depict how the customers interact with and benefit from the sprint’s deliverables.
   • Purpose: This activity focuses on the end-user perspective, helping the team to understand the value and impact of their work from the customer’s viewpoint.

Analyzing Drawings for Themes and Opportunities

1. Sharing and Discussion:
   • Activity: Team members present their drawings to the group, explaining the symbolism and thoughts behind each image.
   • Purpose: Sharing the drawings fosters open communication and provides a platform for each team member to voice their experiences and insights.
2. Identifying Common Themes:
   • Activity: As a group, the team analyzes the drawings to identify recurring themes, patterns, and shared experiences, and separate them by positive/negative.
   • Purpose: Finding common themes helps the team to understand collective challenges and successes, reinforcing a sense of shared experience.
3. Discovering Opportunities for Improvement:
   • Activity: Based on the identified themes and discussions, the team brainstorms actionable improvements for future sprints.
   • Purpose: This step ensures that the retrospective leads to concrete changes that enhance team performance and project outcomes.

Benefits of the “Draw Your Sprint” Retrospective

• Enhanced Engagement: The creative nature of drawing makes the retrospective more engaging and enjoyable for team members.
• Deeper Insights: Visual expressions can reveal insights that might not surface through verbal discussion alone.
• Alternative Communication Style: Sharing drawings fosters open dialogue and helps team members to articulate their experiences in new ways.
• Focus on Emotion: Capturing feelings and emotions provides a holistic view of the sprint, addressing both technical and human aspects.

Example Application

Imagine a development team reflecting on their recent sprint. One team member draws the sprint as a cheetah, indicating a fast but exhausting pace. Another draws their face with a tired expression, showing the sprint’s demanding nature. A third team member draws customers happily using the new feature, highlighting the sprint’s success in meeting user needs. Through discussion, they identify a common theme of high stress but high reward, leading to a brainstorming session on how to maintain quality without burnout in future sprints.

This approach encourages a more vivid and emotionally connected reflection, helping teams to continuously improve their processes and maintain a healthy, productive work environment.