The Hero's Journey
The narrative metaphor has a specific purpose: it helps people talk about difficult or emotionally complex situations more easily than if they were addressed directly. The distance provided by the fantasy character reduces discomfort and allows perspectives to emerge that would otherwise remain unspoken.
When to use it
- When the sprint has been especially difficult and the team needs to process what happened in a less confrontational way than direct analysis.
- In teams with a high level of trust that enjoy creative activities.
- As an alternative to more structured activities when the facilitator notices format fatigue in the team.
How to run the activity
- Each participant creates a hero or heroine and assigns them a role that reflects how they felt during the sprint: wizard, warrior, explorer, cleric, rogue... The role is not arbitrary: it should represent the part the person felt they played in the team during the iteration.
- The dungeons cleared represent the goals achieved during the sprint. The dungeons not cleared represent unmet goals or failures.
- The people who helped the character or served as guides during the sprint are added.
- The treasures obtained can also be added: lessons learned, achievements, and benefits gained.
- The character needs to level up: each participant identifies what they should improve to grow in the next sprint.
- A debrief is held. In some versions, participants use a narrative format to tell their character's story to the group, which makes the activity more immersive and entertaining.
In remote teams
In a remote format, the activity works with digital whiteboards where each person visually builds their character. It can also be done in writing before the video debrief. Some online facilitation tools include hero/adventure templates adapted to this type of activity.
Common mistake
Using it with teams that do not yet trust each other. The Hero's Journey requires a certain level of openness and willingness to play. In new teams, teams with unresolved tensions, or teams with very formal organizational cultures, the activity may cause discomfort or be perceived as frivolous. In those contexts, more direct activities such as Check-in or Satisfaction Histogram are more appropriate to start with.
Resources
🔧 Diseñar una retrospectiva [Designing a Retrospective, in Spanish]Template · Scrum Manager
📄 Segunda fase de una retrospectiva: en busca de la mejora continua [Second Phase of a Retrospective: In Pursuit of Continuous Improvement, in Spanish]Scrum Manager Blog · Aug 2023
📄 Ejemplo: cómo diseñar una sprint retrospective [Example: How to Design a Sprint Retrospective, in Spanish]Scrum Manager Blog · Aug 2023
📄 Liderar retrospectivas y resolución de conflictos [Leading Retrospectives and Conflict Resolution, in Spanish]Scrum Manager Blog · Aug 2023
📄 Apuntes: Agile Retrospectives [Notes: Agile Retrospectives, in Spanish]Scrum Manager Blog · Aug 2023
See also
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