CreateBlankWhat you need for a team workshop
CreateBlank·
Six things cover a team workshop: printed retro sheets (one per person), pens, a visible timer, sticky notes and markers, a wall to post on, and one sheet for decisions. Print the sheets rather than opening laptops, for two reasons. An open laptop also has messages open, and a shared document ends up typed by one person while everyone else watches. On paper six people write at once. For 90 minutes, split it check-in 10, writing alone 15, posting and clustering 20, picking and digging 30, deciding 15.
The six things
- ✓Printed retro sheets — One per person, plus two or three spares. Always.
- ✓Pens — More than you have people. Assume everyone brings one and half the room will not.
- ✓A visible timer — Not a phone. When people can see the time left, they keep it short.
- ✓Sticky notes and markers — For moving what people wrote onto the wall.
- ✓A wall or whiteboard — Somewhere to post. No wall in the room? Tape up a sheet of flip chart paper.
- ✓One sheet for decisions — Who, what, by when. This is the one you photograph and send round.
The two people forget most are the timer and the spare pens. Without them the retro runs long, and when it runs long the deciding gets cut. A retro that decided nothing guarantees you will have the same conversation next time.
Why paper instead of laptops?
An open laptop has messages and mail open next to the retro. Someone answers one during the session and they are no longer in the room.
The bigger issue is simultaneity. Put a shared document on the screen and one person types while everyone else watches, and watchers offer less. Paper has six people writing at the same time. Fifteen minutes later there are six different perspectives on the wall.
What handwriting does to thinking is inwhy a handwriting workbook, with the research.
How do you split 90 minutes?
| Time | What | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 10 min | Check-in | One sentence each. State of mind only, then move. |
| 15 min | Write alone | Everyone fills in the sheet in silence. This quiet stretch is not optional. |
| 20 min | Post and cluster | Put it on the wall, group what is similar. No debating yet. |
| 30 min | Pick and dig | Take the two or three biggest clusters. Try to cover everything and you decide nothing. |
| 15 min | Decide | Who, what, by when. An item without a name attached does not happen. |
Do not begrudge the 15 quiet minutes. Cut them and you are left with whoever talks loudest. The quietest person's view makes it onto the wall because of that stretch.
What goes on the retro sheet?
What went well, what did not, what to change. That is the frame. Add two or three questions that fit where your team actually is. For example:
- · What is one thing we should stop doing this quarter?
- · Where were we stuck longest last sprint?
- · Is there something someone did for you that you never thanked them for?
Keep it to three or four questions per page. Shrink the boxes and you get one-word answers. Put a decision block on the last page: who, what, by when. An item with no name attached does not happen.
Checklist before the day
- One week out — settle the theme and make the retro sheet. Send people the time and the purpose in one paragraph.
- Day before — print the sheets, headcount plus three. Check pens and sticky notes.
- Morning of — clear the wall, set out the timer, and write the first question on the board.
Where do you make the sheet?
Tell CreateBlank where your team is and what you want to ask, and a draft sheet comes back. Adjust the wording and take the print-ready PDF. Letter and A4 both work, and making, editing and preview are free. To sharpen the questions themselves, the reflect-insight-action order inhow to make a coaching workbook applies to team retros too.
Questions people ask
What do you need for a team workshop?+
Six things: printed retro sheets (one per person), pens, a visible timer, sticky notes and markers, a wall to post on, and one sheet to record decisions. That covers a 90-minute retro.
Why not just use laptops?+
You can, but you lose two things. Focus first: an open laptop also has messages open. Then simultaneity: a shared document ends up typed by one person while everyone else watches, and watchers contribute less. On paper, six people write at once.
What goes on the retro sheet?+
What went well, what did not, what to change. Those three are the frame. Add two or three questions specific to your team. Keep it to three or four questions per page. Shrink the boxes and you get one-word answers.
How many people can join one session?+
About eight per facilitator. Beyond that, sharing gives each person under a minute. Over twelve, split into groups of four or five and only come together at the end.
How do you split the time?+
For 90 minutes: check-in 10, writing alone 15, posting and clustering 20, picking and digging 30, deciding 15. Do not trim the silent writing. Cut that and you are left with whoever talks loudest.
What about teams with low psychological safety?+
Start anonymous. People fill in their sheet, then copy points onto sticky notes without names. If handwriting is recognisable, the facilitator can transcribe. Once a team has one retro that felt safe, the next one is far easier.
Where do the retro sheets come from?+
Write the questions that fit your team the way you would say them and a draft sheet comes back. Adjust the wording and take the print-ready PDF. Letter and A4 both work, and making and editing are free.