The battery is used to discuss team energy levels for next sprint. Use it to ask your team “How much energy do you enter next sprint with?”. This can be used to end a planning event, as a part of a retrospective or as an entire retrospective in itself.
It is a way to make the team focus on how they feel about next sprint rather than what they think. In some teams this causes new realizations and understandings of how to improve performance and mood.
Materials
Pros
- Focusses on how team members feel rather than what they think.
- Fast and easy, but with a potential to go in depth.
- Can be used on all team sizes.
- Requires very little preparation and explanation.
- Can be used to measure development over time and team statistics.
Cons
- Because of the easy setup some teams might be inclined to “get it done quickly” and forget to listen to each other. The scrum master can avoid this be asking follow-up questions.
- There is no build-it system for actions and follow-up on actions. Therefore, the scrum master must also pay attention to if the team needs this or not. If needed the scrum master can simply make a list of actions and who is responsible for them.
Duration
5 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on team and how much you wish to work with the team energy level. You need time for people to decide their energy level as well as time for everyone to elaborate.
Preparation
Share screen or copy the battery to somewhere everyone can write on it.
Also prepare some way to take notes of realizations or actions that needs to be done. See the How page for more information.
Step-by-step
Each team member decides what battery level that fits their energy for next sprint. After this team members take turn elaborating on why they placed themselves as they did.
Examples of follow-up questions can be:
- Is it higher or lower than last week?
- What gives you more energy?
- What is the main cause of lacking energy?
Take notes that everyone can see and let people talk. If a team member is especially frustrated and talks about all kinds of things in all directions, just let them talk and write it down. In the end people often realize something important.
Contributors
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