RETRO-man is a fun and creative retro retrospective for use in agile teams.
RETRO-man is created in honour of PAC-man’s 40th anniversary this year. The team takes it in turn to move the RETRO-man (the yellow pac-man) around and must not get caught by the 2 ghosts. Every 5 moves the game displays a topic for discussion in the team. We have created over 50 questions for the team. Once the player gets caught the game ends (this is when duration is exceeded – but the team doesn’t know this). The retrospective is created in Javascript and runs in all browsers without installing anything.
Materials:
Click here for the game: https://onlineretrospectives.com/retroman/retroman.html
Pros:
- Fun and creative
- Like a game with surprising elements
- Easy to understand the rules of the game
- So far we have tested this game on 5 or more teams in the company where I work and everyone really likes it as it gives the team new energy
- It makes the normal serious retrospectives more fun and helps building teamwork as the team also might discuss retro games and the game itself.
- A completely different retrospective and a chance for a different view on problems in the team and the company.
Cons:
- If you do not take notes during discussions, it might be difficult to remember decisions and what was discused.
- Might not bring up the subjects that the team really needs to discuss. However, my team managed to include important subjects as the questions are quite open.
Duration: Each game takes up to 25 minutes plus introduction. You can do two or more games if needed. Time starts when moving the Pacman first time.
Preparation: Find the game from this site or using the link below.
Step-by-step:
- To play you can share the screen with the team and take it in turns to move the player (or give instructions on which direction to move the player).
- Play RETRO-man and for each 5 moves, the team must discuss the displayed topic. Take notes during the discussions.
- The game finishes after 25 minutes, or if the player gets caught by a ghost.
- After the game is finished, discuss the retrospective and the topics you have processed.
- If you want to continue with another game, press F5 or just move the RETRO-man again.
Contributors:
The game was written Katrine Caroline Christensen and Jakob Hoffmann, are both scrum masters in a financial company in Denmark. Katrine has a Masters Degree in Eductional Science, specializing in gamification and knowledge sharing. Jakob has a background as developer and project manger and has been working as a scrum master since 2012.