Check-in
It lasts between 5 and 10 minutes. Its goal is not to gather detailed information but to create the conditions for a productive retrospective: anyone who speaks out loud from the start finds it easier to keep participating throughout the rest of the session.
How to run it
- The facilitator prepares a short-answer question before the meeting.
- The question can be a direct one about expectations ("What do you hope to get out of this retrospective?"), about mood ("How are you arriving at this retro, in one word?"), or about something related to the sprint ("What moment of the sprint would you highlight?").
- Each participant answers one at a time, with a single word or a short phrase. Answers are neither elaborated on nor discussed.
- The facilitator makes no comments on the answers, whether positive or negative. They listen and, if necessary, take notes.
- Participants may pass if they prefer not to answer, but they must say so out loud: "pass."
Examples of effective questions
- "In one word, how are you arriving at this retrospective?"
- "What's the weather like in your head today?" (weather metaphor)
- "What's the first thing that comes to mind about this sprint?"
- "Is there anything outside this room you need to set aside in order to be here?"
In remote teams
In a remote format, the check-in works just as well. Some variants:
- Answering in the video call chat before speaking out loud, to give thinking time to those who need it.
- An emoji in the chat as the answer, for more introverted teams or in contexts where time is very limited.
- A shared digital whiteboard where each person writes their answer simultaneously before sharing it.
Common mistake
Turning the check-in into a meeting within the meeting. When the facilitator asks follow-up questions, asks someone to elaborate on their answer, or comments on what they hear, the activity loses its purpose. The check-in is a doorway in, not a debate: its value lies in everyone speaking once, quickly, so the meeting starts with every voice already activated.
Materials
🔧 Diseñar una retrospectiva [Designing a Retrospective, in Spanish]Template · Scrum Manager
📄 Ejemplo de la actividad Check-in [Check-in Activity Example, in Spanish]Scrum Manager · Google Docs
Resources
📄 Primera fase de una retrospectiva: reflexión en equipo [First phase of a retrospective: team reflection, in Spanish]Scrum Manager Blog · Jun 2023
References
- Derby, Esther; Larsen, Diana. (2006). Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great. Pragmatic Bookshelf.
See also
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