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Jean Michel Diaz

How to Do a Retrospective? Step-by-step Guide

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Experienced Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches often intuitively know how to moderate good retrospectives. Many inexperienced moderators, who may even prepare, conduct and moderate a retrospective in their role as a team member or team leader, ask themselves the question: How can I ensure that our retrospective is a success? What steps do I have to take when moderating?

I'm assuming that you're familiar with the basic process and phases of a retrospective . If not, check out the basics of retrospective once again in advance. Also could the 10 simple basic rules for an agile retrospective be helpful as a refresher.

Here is our step-by-step guide to conducting great retrospectives – for beginners as well as advanced facilitators:

Step 1: Set the Stage for a Great Retro

So that the chances of good retrospectives are not blocked in advance, make sure of the following things:

  • All team members are invited and can participate. It's OK if a single person is missing, but if several team members are missing, it becomes problematic. Then you should reschedule the appointment if necessary.
  • All team members know what a retrospective is. If that's not the case yet, share our article on "What is a retrospective" and make sure any questions from the team about the format are cleared.

Decide on a tool to conduct the retrospective. Of course we can recommend Echometer as a retro tool . However, you can find a broader overview in our article “14 retro tools in comparison".

Step 2: Choose the Right Check-in for Your Retro

The check-in or icebreaker creates the necessary atmosphere and framework for the retro. Everyone on the team answers a short question to warm up the atmosphere of the conversation.

Make sure that all team members arrive at the retro and can actively contribute at check-in.

Depending on the situation, you can choose a short or longer, serious or more playful check-in. It is only important that you do not skip the check-in.

If your team isn't actively participating in check-in, you may have chosen the wrong check-in format.

Here are a few Check-in formats for retrospectives for your inspiration.

Step 3: Create Space for Sharing Feedback

To give all team members enough peace to formulate their feedback, you should ensure that feedback is not directly shared out loud. Instead, you should give everyone the opportunity to formulate their feedback.

"Space" means both the period of time to formulate feedback and later when sharing: Each team member should have a similarly large time box (i.e. a previously agreed period of time) are available to present his/her feedback in the group.

In order for this to work, you, as the moderator, must of course prevent the team from going into the analysis or finding measures directly when the feedback is initially presented. That comes later in process of the retrospective.

Therefore, when presenting feedback, only allow questions of clarification and interrupt discussions early and decisively with the hint that there will be enough time for this later.

In particular, immediate criticism of feedback from the group can change the atmosphere and the psychological safety  gets lasting damage. Here, again, it is your responsibility as a moderator to create awareness in the team.

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Step 4: Enough Time for Actions at the End of the Retro

It is challenging to formulate good measures. Of course, this becomes particularly difficult if you only have a little time left at the end of a retrospective. Accordingly, you should Timeboxing in the retrospective keep a close eye on things and plan enough time to define measures.

Are you wondering how to generally generate good action items in retrospectives? Then have a look here: More tips for better action items from retrospectives.

Step 5: Poll Retro Satisfaction & Measure ROTI

Nothing is more unsatisfying after a retrospective than not knowing how the participants perceived the retrospective. It doesn't have to be like this.

As a check-out of a retrospective, regularly ask about the satisfaction of your team.

In Echometer as a free tool for retrospectives this query then takes place automatically via the “Return On Time Invest” (ROTI). With the ROTI, team members can rate on a scale of 0 – 10 how well they think the time was invested. 

All you have to do is ask the group in turn: What did you like about this retro and what should we do differently?

By asking this question at check-out, you show the team that they can actively help shape the retrospectives and that their opinion is important. Win win!

Step 6: Vary Your Retro Format

At the latest after the third retrospective with the same format, the team will report: Hm, the retrospectives will be one-sided.

But that's not a problem, because there are solutions. It is estimated that more than 20 million software developers worldwide use retrospectives and a corresponding number of retrospective formats have emerged. Accordingly, it is not a problem to bring variety into your retrospectives. Feel free to have a look here: 32 kickass retrospective ideas for beginners and professionals..

In the linked article you will find classics such as the Sailboat Retrospective, Keep Stop Start or Mad Sad Glad retro. But we also have a few so-called Health Check Retrospectives.

For example, you can see our Health Check Retrospective on the subject of team morale right here. Have a look at, you might even want to try them out with your team:

Open this retro now

Note: This retrospective format asks for agreement with the given Health Check items on a scale.

Team Radar Tool Health Check Retrospective
  • Appreciation: My colleagues appreciate my contribution to the team.
  • Team Spirit: There is a trusting working atmosphere in our team.
  • Transparency: Everyone in my team knows who is currently working on what.
  • Recovery & Breaks: I have enough room for breaks in which I can draw new energy.
  • Meeting culture: Our meetings are well structured, yet leave room for creativity and new ideas.
  • Support: In my team, each team member passes on their individual knowledge and experience.

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Do you have the ambition to further develop your team through really good retrospectives? Then this eBook is for you: 

eBook: 20+ Facilitation Tips for Great Retrospectives

In the eBook, I summarized all of my experience as a Scrum Master in 20 tips. And the feedback from my readers is pretty good – from both newbies and experienced Scrum Masters.

The Echometer eBook for Agile Coaches and Scrum Master: 20+ Tips for moderating great retrospectives
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"Great and easy read for anyone looking to take their retrospectives to the next level."
Carsten Lützen
Agile Coach
Credits: Man thinking photo created by wayhomestudio – www.freepik.com

If an agile team does not yet have much experience with retrospectives, a tool that effectively guides you through the retrospective and offers many templates is recommended:

  • Echometer is known not only for being an intuitive online retro board, but also for offering a very effective guided flow through the retrospective. At the same time, Echometer offers whiteboards that can be flexibly integrated into the retrospective. This makes Echometer very beginner-friendly.
  • Echometer also has extremely versatile and creative templates for retrospectives and team Health Checks that stimulate team reflection. Inexperienced teams in particular are very grateful for the food for thought in Echometer.

This makes Echometer the best software recommendation for beginners with agile retrospectives or Scrum beginners. By the way, you can try out Echometer for free without logging in: Echometer Try out the retro tool

Echometer's online retrospective software has several strengths and distinguishing features compared to Parabol:

  • Integrated whiteboards: Echometer offers the option of flexibly adding further whiteboards in retrospectives. These whiteboards can be used in Echometer to discuss individual topics in a focused manner and derive measures. Parabol does not offer integrated whiteboards in retrospectives.
  • Pulse checks: Echometer enables automatic, regular team surveys, so-called pulse checks. This automation of surveys does not exist in Parabol. Feedback can only ever be obtained in Parabol in conjunction with a manually created meeting.
  • Team Health Dashboards: Echometer's dashboards serve as a clear mood barometer over time and optionally across multiple teams.
  • Remote, hybrid and on-site: Echometer also has a mode for on-site retrospectives. Participants can share feedback and take part in the voting via their smartphone. Parabol, on the other hand, is limited to remote retrospectives.
  • Echometer is very beginner-friendly and you don't need to be an experienced Scrum team to conduct effective team retrospectives.

We have already reported on the overlaps between the retrospective tools of Parabol and Echometer here: Comparison Echometer vs Parabol

Together with your agile team, you can see for yourself the strengths of Echometer's Retro Board compared to Parabol by testing the free version of Echometer: Try Echometer (free of charge and without login)

Echometer is better than Parabol for conducting agile retrospectives (also called "sprint retrospectives") because Echometer offers a wider range of features in addition to the retro board that make the lives of Scrum Masters and Team Managers easier:

  • Better retro effectiveness: Retrospectives with Echometer are very effective. You can even measure this: At the end of every retrospective in Echometer, the team is asked about the ROTI, i.e. the "Return on Time Invested". This allows you to keep the quality and effectiveness of your retrospectives in Echometer high in the long term. Parabol does not have such a mechanism.
  • More flexibility in Echometer: In Echometer, you can use integrated whiteboards during retrospectives to discuss individual topics in a focused way and derive measures for them. You can also create your own whiteboard templates and use them flexibly in your retrospectives. Parabol is not as flexible as Echometer and does not offer integrated whiteboards for retrospectives.
  • Long-term team health trends: In Echometer, team development can also be easily tracked over time via the Health Checks team. You can even collect and evaluate overarching metrics in Echometer via Workspace Health.
  • Automatic pulse check surveys: In Echometer, you can automate regular team health surveys and rotate topics automatically. In Parabol, you have to manually create a meeting for each data collection.
  • It is also not possible to create dashboards of agile pulse surveys as a mood barometer (or Agile / Scrum Health Check) over time.

As a manager, Echometer is therefore probably more effective, more flexible and more time-saving for you than Parabol. Ultimately, of course, your team has to help decide which tool they prefer for retrospectives. So here's an important tip: simply try out both tools with your team. Because both tools have a free plan: Try Echometer for free without login.

By testing the free version, you can see for yourself why Echometer is better than Parabol for agile retrospectives and why many users of both tools speak of Echometer as "by far the best tool for online retrospectives".

The prices of the online retrospective software tool from Echometer and Parabol differ in the way they are billed:

  • Echometer charges per team (Pro plan with a monthly subscription of €35 per month)
  • Parabol billed per team member (team plan with monthly 8$ per user)

So depending on how big your team is, Echometer's online retrospective software is usually cheaper (even significantly cheaper) than Parabol. Only if your team has 4 or less team members, Parabol is cheaper than Echometer:

  • For a team with 9 members, Parabol costs you €72 per month (€37 more expensive than Echometer).
  • For a team with 8 members, Parabol costs you €64 per month (€29 more expensive than Echometer).
  • For a team with 7 members, Parabol costs you €56 per month (€21 more expensive than Echometer).
  • For a team with 6 members, Parabol costs you €48 per month (€13 more expensive than Echometer).
  • For a team with 5 members, Parabol costs you €40 per month (€5 more expensive than Echometer).
  • Only if your team has 4 or fewer members will Parabol be just as expensive or cheaper for you at €32 than Echometer with a standard monthly subscription of €35 per team.

Tip: If you want to save money on your Echometer subscription, opt for the annual subscription and pay just €29 per month per team.

Note: For the sake of simplicity, we assume a 1:1 exchange rate between USD and EURO. This is because the prices of Parabol are quoted in USD and the prices of Echometer in EURO.

Would you like to test the Online Retro Board from Echometer with your agile team free of charge? No problem: Try Echometer Retro Board for free, without login

Both Echometer and Parabol are very suitable online retrospective software for conducting agile retrospectives.

Both tools include the following functions for online retrospectives:

  • Interactive online retro boards that allow grouping and prioritizing feedback
  • Integrated tracking of measures from retrospectives
  • Surveys: Obtaining anonymous feedback from team members even before the retrospective
  • Feedback on a scale for team health queries in the retrospective. The results are automatically recorded on the Retro Board.
  • AI support during the retrospective (for example when brainstorming measures)
  • Integration with Jira
  • Generated icebreakers for retrospectives
  • Retro archive, automatic retro summary via email and export of retro results

What distinguishes Echometer and Parabol are the following functions:

  • Echometer enables automatic, regular team surveys via so-called pulse checks. This automation of surveys is not possible in Parabol. Feedback can only ever be obtained in Parabol in conjunction with a retrospective.
  • Echometer also allows you to create dashboards of agile pulse surveys as a mood barometer over time: For example, the scientifically based query of Psychological Safety or the Spotify Health Check are very good templates for both retrospectives and surveys.
  • Echometer offers the option of flexibly adding further whiteboards in retrospectives. These whiteboards can be used in Echometer to discuss individual topics in a focused manner and derive measures. Parabol does not offer integrated whiteboards in retrospectives.
  • In addition to the Jira integration, Parabol also has further integrations for GitHub, GitLab, Linear and Azure Dev. Parabol also has messaging integrations with Slack, Teams and Mattermost, as well as a calendar integration with Google Calendar.
  • Echometer also has a mode for on-site retrospectives. Participants can share feedback via their smartphone and take part in the voting. Parabol, on the other hand, is limited to remote retrospectives.

Further differences in the functions and target group of Echometer and Parabol:

  • In addition to the tool for team retrospectives, Echometer also offers a tool for 1:1 meetings. This means that Echometer is optimized as a software tool for managers of agile teams.
  • In addition to the tool for team retrospectives, Parabol also offers software for Sprint Planning (Planning Poker) and Daily Standup Scrum Meetings. This means that Parabol is optimized as a software tool for remote Scrum teams.

Both Parabol and Echometer offer a generous free plan:

  • In Parabol, 2 teams are free of charge. Parbol's free plan includes up to 10 meetings per month (including retrospectives, stand-ups, check-ins and sprint poker).
    • The meeting history in the free plan is 30 days in Parabol.
  • In Echometer, 1 team is free of charge. In Echometer's free plan, an unlimited number of retrospectives are possible in the first 3 weeks, then 1 retrospective per month. The number of 1:1 meetings is also unlimited in the free plan.
    • In Echometer's free plan, the history for retrospectives is 6 months.

If you are considering trying out the retrospective software tool Parabol in your agile team or scrum team, take a quick look at the online retro tool Echometer first: Echometer Access without login.

Miro is a generic online whiteboard tool while Echometer is an online retrospective tool. However, the flow of online retrospectives differs in both software tools:

  • Structure and process of the retros: Both tools have an online retro board. However, Echometer also has a dedicated mode for carrying out online retrospectives. In Echometer, a retro therefore has several steps, whereas in Miro everything takes place on a whiteboard, which can become somewhat confusing.
  • Retro templates & preparation: Miro has many templates for retrospectives, but no dedicated mode for online retrospectives. Accordingly, retro moderators need to think very carefully about how they want to structure a retrospective in Miro beforehand. This means that retrospectives in Miro are more time-consuming to prepare, often less structured and less effective than in Echometer.

The specific advantages of Echometer over Miro for conducting online retrospectives are as follows:

  • Echometer offers integrated measure tracking with automatic resubmission of open measures in the next retro
  • Echometer offers a structured process for preparing the retrospective with many templates and ideas specifically for retrospectives (both for Scrum retrospectives and general team retrospectives)
  • Echometer enables the ROTI score to be recorded when the retro is checked out. This provides quantitative feedback on the perceived effectiveness of the retrospective by the participants.

Miro, on the other hand, has many more generic whiteboard functions compared to Echometer's online whiteboard when it comes to designing sticky notes. For some participants in agile sprint retrospectives, the range of functions is even somewhat overwhelming because the functions of Miro go far beyond the basics and are therefore more difficult to use. Echometer's whiteboard is very easy to use in comparison.

So if the use case for the online whiteboard tool Miro is agile retrospectives, it is highly recommended that you at least try out classic sprint retrospective software such as Echometer and evaluate it together as a team: Echometer Retrospective Tool free trial without login

Mural is a generic online whiteboard tool while Echometer is an online retrospective tool.

Both tools can be used as software for Online Retro Board. However, Echometer also has a dedicated mode for conducting online retrospectives in addition to the Retro Board. Mural does not have a dedicated mode for online retrospectives. Accordingly, retrospectives in Mural are more time-consuming, less structured and less effective than in Echometer.

The advantages of Echometer over Mural for conducting agile retrospectives (or Scrum retrospectives) are as follows:

  • Echometer offers integrated measure tracking with automatic resubmission of open measures in the next retro
  • Echometer offers a structured process for preparing the retrospective with many templates and ideas specifically for retrospectives
  • Echometer enables the ROTI score to be recorded when the retro is checked out. This provides quantitative feedback on the perceived effectiveness of the retrospective by the participants.

Mural, on the other hand, has many more generic whiteboard functions compared to Echometer's online whiteboard when it comes to designing sticky notes.

In one respect, Echometer's whiteboard is ahead of the mural whiteboard:

  • You can write individual notes face down in Echometer and reveal them later.
  • In Mural, however, hidden notes are not a direct function. Instead, you have to use the "bulk mode" to create notes without showing them to the group until the moderator releases them.

So if the use case for the online whiteboard tool Mural is retrospectives, it is highly recommended to at least try out and evaluate classic sprint retrospective software such as Echometer: Echometer Retrospective Tool free trial without login

Neatro and Echometer are both tools for online retrospectives that are very popular with Scrum teams. Both share some similarities, but Echometer is much more sophisticated in the details:

  • An online retro board for sharing, grouping and voting on feedback. Both also offer a hidden brainstorming mode for the retro board so that participants do not influence each other when formulating their feedback.
  • Neatro and Echometer both have a library of templates for retrospectives. However, Echometer has a wider selection as it includes templates for open retros (more than 50), ideas for Health Checks (more than 100), ideas for icebreakers (more than 50) and whiteboard templates (more than 20).
  • Tracking measures from retrospectives works very similarly in Neatro and Echometer: both allow you to create measures based on feedback on the board, mark a due date and define a person responsible. Practical: Echometer also offers the option of having an AI suggest measures for a topic.
  • Both Neatro and Echometer offer scale surveys with rating questions. Neatro calls these "radars" and Echometer calls them "Health Checks". The radars in Neatro are far less sophisticated than the Health Checks in Echometer. In Echometer, for example, feedback on Health Checks can be obtained both in the retrospectives and independently of them in team surveys or even in cross-team surveys. Using pulse checks, you can even automate the sending of regular surveys in Echometer.

Key differences between Neatro and Echometer for agile retrospectives:

  • Yes, both Neatro and Echometer offer a free plan. However, Neatro's free plan is very limited in its range of functions (e.g. no export of retros) and only allows 10 participants. The free plan from Echometer is more generous and includes all functions as well as an unlimited number of participants.
  • In addition to the retro board, Echometer also has integrated whiteboards that can be used flexibly in the retrospective –, for example to examine core causes or to brainstorm measures.

So our tip: If you're thinking about trying out the Neatro retrospective software tool in your agile team, take a look at the Echometer retro tool first: Free Echometer access without login

Both TeamRetro and Echometer offer all the essential functions for preparing and conducting online retrospectives:

  • Both TeamRetro and Echometer have an extensive retrospective board for sharing feedback, grouping and voting. However, Echometer also offers integrated whiteboards that can be used flexibly in the retrospective.
  • Both TeamRetro and Echometer have integrated Team Health Checks and offer cross-team evaluations.
  • Both TeamRetro and Echometer offer random icebreakers for retrospectives.
  • Both tools allow the creation and tracking of measures from a retrospective perspective

The main differences between TeamRetro and Echometer are as follows:

  • What sets Echometer apart from TeamRetro is its simpler handling and modern design. Users of Echometer report that it is easier in Echometer for all team members to be online quickly and that it is easier for participants to actively take part in Echometer.
  • In addition to the Retro tool, TeamRetro also offers Planning Poker. TeamRetro is therefore very focused on Scrum teams. Echometer, on the other hand, also offers a tool for 1:1 meetings in addition to its retro tool and thus focuses more on the managers of agile teams.
  • TeamRetro only has a 30-day free trial period, while Echometer offers a permanent free plan.

Both retrospective software from Echometer and Reetro make it possible to conduct interactive online retrospectives:

  • Both have a retro board
  • Both support Health Checks
  • Both support action tracking
  • Both support icebreakers

Echometer and Reetro differ as follows:

  • Echometer's free plan is more generous than Reetro's free version:
    • Reetro only allows 9 team members in the free plan. Echometer allows an unlimited number of team members in the free plan.
    • Retro only allows 1 Team Admin and one Orga Admin in the free plan. Echometer allows an unlimited number of Team Admins and Orga Admins.
    • Echometer's free plan includes all features: Also the concealment of cards and Health Checks. With Reetro, these features are only available in the paid plan.
  • Reetro has a slightly more expensive entry-level price of €32 per month. Echometer's Pro plan starts at just €29 per month.

If you're thinking about trying out the retrospective software tool Reetro, take a quick look at the retro tool Echometer. The special thing about Echometer is that you can simply open the retrospective templates and the retro tool for free and save time without logging in using this link: Echometer Access without login.

Both the Echometer Retrospective software and EasyRetro allow you to conduct interactive online retrospectives. Some features overlap in both tools:

  • Both offer a Google login and login via email
  • Both offer a retro board for grouping and tuning feedback
  • Both offer Jira integration for saving measures

In principle, both tools allow you to carry out good online or remote retrospectives. However, Echometer goes one step further and offers icebreakers, action reviews and a checkout (ROTI score) in addition to the retro board. In addition to the retro, Echometer also has supplementary functions such as team surveys and team Health Check dashboards.

Therefore, as the name suggests, EasyRetro is actually just a very simple retro tool, while Echometer is a more comprehensive team development tool, of which the retrospective is a central part.

Unlike Echometer, EasyRetro only allows a limited number of team members in the free version. With Echometer, the number of team members is unlimited, even in the free plan.

EasyRetro has far fewer features overall than Echometer, for example no integrated online whiteboards and no templates for Health Check – for measuring psychological safety, for example. Finally, the generous free trial version of Echometer is also outstanding.

Tip: If you're thinking about trying out the EasyRetro retrospective software tool, take a quick look at the free version of the Echometer retro tool. The special thing about Echometer is that you can open the retrospective templates and the Echometer retro board immediately, free of charge and without having to log in: Echometer Access without login.

Both the Echometer retrospective software and Retrium make it possible to conduct interactive online retrospectives. In principle, both tool alternatives make it possible to conduct good online/remote retrospectives.

Retrium also has fewer retrospective features than Echometer:

  • Retrium, for example, does not have integrated online whiteboards and
  • not as diverse templates for retrospectives as Echometer.
  • Retrium also lacks the option of obtaining asynchronous feedback via a survey before the retrospective.

Finally, Echometer's generous free trial is also outstanding. While Retrium, unlike Echometer, does not offer a permanent free plan. Retrium is also generally more expensive than Echometer in the paid plans.

If you are thinking about trying out the retrospective software tool Retrium, take a quick look at the free version of the retro tool Echometer. Because the special thing about Echometer is that you can try out the retrospective templates and the retro board immediately (time-saving without login) under this link: Echometer Access without login.

Advantages of using Echometer as agile retrospective software:

  • Simplicity: Simple preparation and implementation of retrospectives for the moderator, which saves time
  • Team engagement: Users report that the playful approach increases team engagement
  • Successful continuous improvement: integrated tracking of long-term trends and follow-up of retrospective measures

Disadvantages of using Echometer as an agile retrospective tool:

  • Holistic mapping of retrospectives: The tracking of measures from retrospectives should ideally also take place in Echometer in order to be able to use the full range of functions.
  • Opinionated approach: Echometer provides a certain structure for the retrospectives thanks to its psychologically based approach. Adapting this as a moderator can be somewhat cumbersome, as you may have to manually skip steps in the retrospective.
  • The free plan only offers one retrospective per month after the initial trial has expired. On the other hand, the Pro version is relatively inexpensive at €29 per team per month.

Echometer is the best software tool for retrospectives compared to alternative retrospective software tools such as Retrium, EasyRetro, Reetro, Neetro and TeamRetro for three reasons:

  1. Large selection of creative templates for retrospectives: Users of Echometer confirm that Echometer has a uniquely wide range of retro board ideas.
  2. Echometer has a simple and intuitive structure for retrospectives that guides teams through retrospectives using best practices. This also makes Echometer very beginner-friendly.
  3. Echometer offers a generous free version.

Users of Echometer particularly appreciate the unique function of Echometer to insert Health Checks into their agile retrospectives: These agile Health Checks make a massive contribution to stimulating team reflection and actively involving every team member in the retrospective.

To summarize, even alternative retrospective software tools such as Parabol do not have the unique features of the Echometer retrospective tool, which are both simple and effective. Therefore, it can be said that Echometer is the best software app for conducting agile sprint retrospective meetings.

The greatest strengths of the Echometer retrospective tool are its impact on time savings, participant engagement and productivity.

  • With hundreds of ideas for retrospective templates in combination with the integrated surveys, Echometer makes it very easy to prepare great retrospectives in just a few minutes.
  • Thanks to the guided steps and the playful and interactive retrospective board, implementation is child's play, focused and results-oriented at the same time.
  • The integrated tracking of measures and team health makes it easier to recognize trends in the team at an early stage and ensure that measures from retrospectives are not forgotten

Combined with the unique features of the agile Health Checks and flexible whiteboards, Echometer is one of the best, if not the best, retrospective tool on the market, even better than the better-known Parabol retrospective tool.

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FAQ about the online retrospective tool

No, you do not need to log in to Echometer or register to test the Retro Board and Retro Tool in Echometer.

You can try out Echometer's Retro Board via the following link without logging in: Try a Practice Round

First, simply register for free in Echometer. Then navigate to the workspace for which you would like to purchase the retro tool. If you haven't already done so, you can do so here: Create account in Echometer 1:1 tool

You can then manage your subscription (for both the retro tool and the 1:1 software) within the workspace settings.

You can choose from various payment methods when upgrading.

If you do not have access to your company's credit card yourself, you can simply add a buyer as a workspace admin in your Echometer workspace so that this admin can carry out the upgrade for you.

In Echometer there are two separate software solutions that are available within each workspace in Echometer:

  • 1:1 tool: Software for planning and conducting 1:1 meetings and tracking employee development
  • Retrospective tool: Software for planning and moderating retrospectives and tracking team development through team health checks

Both are independent software solutions, so they can be used separately from each other.

However, they work according to the same principles and aim to achieve the same added value: The continuous improvement of agile teams. In this respect, the simultaneous use of both software solutions is recommended.

Yes, you can assign administration rights to any number of users at both team level and workspace level. Please note the following:

  • Only workspace admins can take out and manage a Echometer subscription for a Echometer workspace.
  • Only workspace admins can create additional teams and name or remove additional workspace admins.
  • Team admins can appoint and remove additional team admins and team members for their team

If an agile team does not yet have much experience with retrospectives, a tool that effectively guides you through the retrospective and offers many templates is recommended:

  • Echometer is known not only for being an intuitive online retro board, but also for offering a very effective guided flow through the retrospective. At the same time, Echometer offers whiteboards that can be flexibly integrated into the retrospective. This makes Echometer very beginner-friendly.
  • Echometer also has extremely versatile and creative templates for retrospectives and team Health Checks that stimulate team reflection. Inexperienced teams in particular are very grateful for the food for thought in Echometer.

This makes Echometer the best software recommendation for beginners with agile retrospectives or Scrum beginners. By the way, you can try out Echometer for free without logging in: Echometer Try out the retro tool

Yes, you can collect and measure the eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) in Echometer's Health Checks and surveys for retrospectives.

The eNPS can be evaluated in Echometer both at team level and across teams. For example, you can use the heat map in the Workspace Health Dashboard for cross-team evaluation.

The Echometer Retrospective software is designed to guide teams through the retrospective process with maximum ease and effectiveness, following best practices.

The steps and their sequence can be customized using the navigation within the retro. By default, a retrospective in Echometer is structured in this way:

  • Icebreaker
  • Review of open measures from past retros
  • Collect feedback (first Health Checks, then open questions)
  • Prioritization of feedback
  • Deriving action items
  • Conclusion of the retrospective with the "ROTI score" (Return on Time Invested)

Additional whiteboards (e.g. for workshops, for analyzing problems or for brainstorming measures) can also be added spontaneously at any point using the Retrospective navigation.

Yes, the Echometer Retrospective Tool offers various export options for retrospectives.

The most popular method is to generate a PDF that contains the feedback, the votes from the prioritization and the measures of the retrospective. It is also possible to share the retrospective via a sharing link.

A summary of the retrospective is also automatically sent to other participants by email after the retrospective, provided they are registered as team members in the team.

Yes, the online retrospective tool Echometer is one of the few retrospective software tools that also optimally supports the recording and tracking of measures:

  • Integration: You can also record measures directly in Jira via an integration.
  • Automatic follow-up: All open measures from past retros appear automatically in the measure review of the next retrospective for tracking purposes. This gives the team an overview of which measures are currently still open and creates a commitment to implementing the agreed measures.
  • Reminders: Measures are assigned to a person responsible, who automatically receives a reminder email when the measure is created so that the measure is not forgotten. In addition, each participant can flexibly receive action reminders via email and manage the action status at any time in the Echometer Retro Tool.

This means that Echometer's tool for team retrospectives has extensive and well thought-out functions for action tracking.

Yes, Echometer allows grouping and prioritizing (voting on points) of feedback on the Retrospective Board.

All participants can simply drag and drop cards onto each other and group them together.

There are 2 modes for prioritizing:

  • In "Live Voting" (the recommended mode), the moderator selects how many votes each participant should have and then starts the hidden voting. As soon as all votes have been cast, the moderator can close the live voting. During the voting, you can see how many votes are still to be awarded. After the voting is closed, the cards in the columns are automatically sorted in descending order so that the cards with the most votes are at the top.
  • In "Facilitated Voting" mode, the moderator simply selects how many votes are allocated to each topic. This mode is only necessary in exceptional cases.

Feedback can be optimally processed in the team using Echometer and the measures derived from it can also be easily recorded in Echometer in direct connection with the feedback.

Yes, with the online retrospective software Echometer you can collect asynchronous feedback on the retrospective in advance via a survey.

This means that obtaining feedback is asynchronous and you can make the most of the time spent together in retrospect.

Yes, absolutely: The online retrospective software Echometer is optimized for distributed teams working remotely and includes various options for interacting with each other in real time.

Both the retrospectives and the whiteboards are synchronized in real time for all participants and you can also optionally display your colleagues' cursors.

Yes, the online retrospective tool Echometer is a free tool that you can try out without logging in.

You can get started right away using this link: Echometer Retro Tool without login.

To invite other participants to your online retrospective in Echometer, you will need to register. Participants only need to enter their email address to join the retrospective, but do not need to log in.

After the retrospective, participants can optionally log in to access the summary even after the retrospective has ended.

Yes, Echometer offers many high-quality templates for retrospectives and the respective steps of a retrospective.

Echometer is the retrospective software tool with probably the most integrated retrospective template ideas and patterns:

  • The retro templates in Echometer contain sample questions for the retro board. These are often creatively based on specific topics in –, such as the "Kart racing retrospective" or the "Time travel retrospective".
  • Some retro templates also contain templates for Health Checks. For example, to measure the Spotify Health Check or psychological safety in the team.
  • When creating a team, you can choose from various team templates for management teams or scrum teams, for example. The team templates then put together a suitable team Health Check for the team.
  • For icebreakers in the retrospective, Echometer has over 50 ideas for sample questions that can be used spontaneously and randomly in a retrospective via a random generator.
  • And then there are whiteboard templates in Echometer, which contain ideas for check-ins, team building and the development of measures.

One of the greatest strengths of the Echometer Retro Tool are the various templates for retrospectives, which can be used as patterns for the creative design of your own retrospectives.

Here is a short list of the samples as an insight into the retrospective templates:

  • Happy, Wondering, Sad
  • Three Little Pigs
  • Team Morale Health Check
  • Easter and Christmas retrospective templates
  • DORA Retrospective
  • 5 agile values Health Check
  • Spotify Squad Health Check Radar
  • Psychological safety Health Check
  • DORA Retrospective
  • Unique retrospective templates such as the "7 Dwarfs Retrospective" or the "Football Retrospective"

If you are interested in the Retrospective Tools templates, take a quick look at the tool: Echometer Retro Templates & Templates

Yes, Echometer is an online tool for retrospectives that offers Jira integration.

With the Jira integration in Echometer, measures from Echometer can be created in Jira boards with a single click.

This makes Echometer a good retrospective software tool if your team is already using Jira.

Echometer is not available in the Atlassian Marketplace, but as separate software via my.echometerapp.com callable.

Yes, Echometer can be called a starfish retrospective tool, because with Echometer you can easily perform the starfish retrospective on an interactive online retrospective board.

Hot tip: If you are interested in the Starfish Retrospective, take a quick look at Echometer. Because the special thing about Echometer is that you can try out the starfish retrospective immediately (time-saving, without logging in) at this link: Echometer Starfish Retrospective Access without login

The Echometer Sprint Retrospective software has very extensive features, both for beginners and experts. The following features form the core of the tool:

  • Structured retrospective flow with integrated whiteboards for flexible brainstorming on individual focus topics
  • Retrospective board for brainstorming, presenting, grouping and voting with live collaboration
  • Moderator tools such as a timer, anonymity settings and control over the agenda step (focused for all participants)
  • Integrated tracking of measures from past retrospectives with automatic resubmission and incl. Jira integration
  • Unbiased brainstorming: Concealed cards on the retro board as well as on the integrated whiteboards prevent participants from influencing each other during the brainstorming session.
  • Simple, quick setup of the tool: Many users report that they were able to start their first retrospective in less than 10 minutes.

The following features are Echometer's unique selling points that are relevant for experienced Scrum Masters and team leaders:

  • Dashboard with retrospective history, including duration of the retrospective, number of participants and ROTI score
  • PDF and Markdown export of the retrospective after completion
  • The retrospective can take place asynchronously (e.g. also via a survey that is sent out before the retro) or in real time
  • Anonymous feedback via survey or on the Retrospective Board
  • Anonymous voting and prioritization of feedback on the retrospective board by awarding points
  • Query or measurement of the "ROTI score" (i.e. Return on Time Invested) after the retrospective for continuous evaluation and improvement of the retrospective by team members
  • Creation of Health Check surveys or pulse surveys as a happiness check and mood barometer in order to recognize trends (e.g. increasing dissatisfaction) in the team at an early stage
  • Health Check KPIs and agile metrics in the analysis dashboard including history
  • Health Check Surveys or pulse surveys also possible across teams

The Echometer Retrospective Tool offers the following features for retrospective template ideas, questions and samples:

  • 50+ Retrospective Template Ideas including Keep Stop Start, Happy Wondering Sad and the Starfish Retrospective
  • 200+ Retrospective Health Check questions and templates
  • Retrospective Icebreaker Library with 50+ fun retrospective check-ins to promote psychological safety and team spirit etc.
  • Whiteboard templates for visual, interactive retrospective icebreakers (including seasonal highlights for e.g. Easter and Christmas)
  • Whiteboard templates to structure and facilitate the creation of measures

Yes, the retrospective software tool Echometer is easy to use even for beginners who are not yet familiar with retrospectives.

Many users report that they were able to carry out their first retrospective in Echometer in less than 10 minutes of preparation!

Thanks to the structured process in Echometer, carrying out the retrospective is also very easy.

On the testimonial page of Echometer you will find numerous confirmed user reviews: Echometer Testimonials

Echometer is the best software tool for retrospectives compared to alternative retrospective software tools such as Retrium, EasyRetro, Reetro, Neetro and TeamRetro for three reasons:

  1. Large selection of creative templates for retrospectives: Users of Echometer confirm that Echometer has a uniquely wide range of retro board ideas.
  2. Echometer has a simple and intuitive structure for retrospectives that guides teams through retrospectives using best practices. This also makes Echometer very beginner-friendly.
  3. Echometer offers a generous free version.

Users of Echometer particularly appreciate the unique function of Echometer to insert Health Checks into their agile retrospectives: These agile Health Checks make a massive contribution to stimulating team reflection and actively involving every team member in the retrospective.

To summarize, even alternative retrospective software tools such as Parabol do not have the unique features of the Echometer retrospective tool, which are both simple and effective. Therefore, it can be said that Echometer is the best software app for conducting agile sprint retrospective meetings.

Yes, in Echometer you can get anonymous feedback from the team.

Echometer is one of the few online retrospective tools that can be used to collect feedback anonymously.

In Echometer, feedback can even be collected anonymously before the retrospective via asynchronous surveys, which is unique among online retrospective tools and distinguishes Echometer positively from tools such as the retrospective software Parabol.

Yes, Echometer offers a generous free version of the online retro tool that can be used permanently free of charge for one team. This includes all functions for team retrospectives.

You only have to switch to a paid version for additional functions such as SSO, multiple teams or an unlimited number of retrospectives.

Further information on the variants of Echometer's retro tool can be found on the pricing page here: Retro-Tool Price List

The greatest strengths of the Echometer retrospective tool are its impact on time savings, participant engagement and productivity.

  • With hundreds of ideas for retrospective templates in combination with the integrated surveys, Echometer makes it very easy to prepare great retrospectives in just a few minutes.
  • Thanks to the guided steps and the playful and interactive retrospective board, implementation is child's play, focused and results-oriented at the same time.
  • The integrated tracking of measures and team health makes it easier to recognize trends in the team at an early stage and ensure that measures from retrospectives are not forgotten

Combined with the unique features of the agile Health Checks and flexible whiteboards, Echometer is one of the best, if not the best, retrospective tool on the market, even better than the better-known Parabol retrospective tool.

Yes, Echometer's retro tool is technically secure and GDPR-compliant.

Several European financial institutions and insurance companies have chosen to purchase Echometer's retrospective tools over other alternatives due to strict regulatory requirements.

The data is stored and securely processed in Germany. The contract for commissioned data processing with details on the technical and organizational security measures of Echometer's processing can be viewed here: https://echometerapp.com/gdpr-and-security/

Echometer's tool for retrospectives offers the following integrations:

  • Jira (for easy tracking of measures from retrospectives in Jira boards)
  • Google login
  • SSO (only in paid version)

Echometer are particularly positive about the increase in the effectiveness of retrospectives and the improved measurability of team development through Echometer.

Here are some officially confirmed quotes from users and customers of the Echometer software tool, all of whom hold leadership positions in agile teams:

Duane Hill, Scrum Master Coach:

  • "Echometer is like a combination of Miro and a really smart retro board. It even provides metrics on the effectiveness of my coaching so I can easily spot trends in team development. I really love this tool – highly recommended for anyone who wants to make their retrospectives more effective!"

Lena Tölke, Agile Coach at Deutsche Bahn Sales:

  • "Thanks to the targeted questions in Echometer, we keep coming up with new insights for our further development in retrospectives and can make these transparent and measurable for all team members."

Clemens Schöne, Scrum Master at Communardo Products:

  • "Echometer is like the combination of Mural and EasyRetro – I am thrilled! With Echometer, remote retros can work much better and even be fun!"

Patrick Böttcher-Exner, management position at Relaxdays GmbH:

  • "One major advantage is that Echometer allows us to carry out and track both remote and on-site retrospectives in one tool."

Carina McLane, Senior Software Developer at Volvo:

  • "As a Scrum Master, it's not about the tools, but this one really makes the work a lot more enjoyable. After two years of experience with Echometer, I can recommend it to anyone who wants to enrich their retrospectives and understand their team better!"

Echometer is the perfect retrospective software tool for busy team managers, team leaders, engineering managers, but also scrum masters and Agile coaches in distributed or hybrid agile teams ("remote teams").

Users particularly appreciate how much time the tool saves for retrospective moderators and how it increases the engagement of participants in the retrospective. Therefore, people who value time savings, retrospective effectiveness and engagement benefit most from the functions of Echometer.

In addition, Echometer offers an easy, playful introduction to retrospectives and is therefore particularly suitable for teams that do not yet have much experience with retrospectives or are just starting out with agile working methods.

The Echometer retrospective software works as follows:

  • Simple preparation of retrospectives using templates for retro formats, surveys and whiteboards
  • Intuitive and step-by-step implementation of retrospectives. Possible both online and on-site. Simply use the QR code on site so that participants can take part via their smartphone with the Mobile Companion app.
  • Automatic follow-up through export functions and integrated tracking of developments and measures including retro archive.

The implementation of a retrospective in Echometer is as follows:

  • The retrospective board allows the agile team to start with a fun welcome screen where they can wait for the rest of the team while playing an interactive game.
  • Once all participants of the retrospective have arrived, continue with an icebreaker question. Echometer has several icebreaker question templates, including both open-ended questions and visual whiteboard templates with workshops and small games.
  • After the icebreaker, you reach the screen for tracking measures: Here, the team reviews the open actions from past retrospectives and decides whether to keep, close or discard the actions. This step is unique to Echometer and significantly improves the quality of the continuous improvement process of agile teams.
  • Then it's on to Team Health Check: all team members answer various questions, for example a question about satisfaction in the team or questions about psychological safety. This type of question increases engagement in the retrospective, even with introverted team members, as well as the creation of agile KPIs to track the mood in the team over time.
  • Then you continue with the retrospective board, where everyone can leave anonymous feedback on open questions – if this has not already been done in advance via a survey. There are hundreds of retrospective templates for different retrospectives on the Echometer retrospective board.
  • Feedback is first written face down on the retro board so that the participants do not influence each other. The moderator can then reveal the feedback column by column.
  • Once the feedback on the retro board has been uncovered, presented to the team and any queries about feedback have been clarified, the prioritization, i.e. the voting, can continue.
  • Voting in Echometer is anonymous. During the voting process, you can see how many votes have already been cast and how many are still open.
  • At on-site retrospectives, you can also vote using your smartphone.
  • As soon as the voting is complete, you can derive measures. To do this, you can either create a measure directly for the feedback or open the feedback on a new whiteboard to analyze the problem in more detail and brainstorm ideas for measures.
  • The brainstorming of measures on a separate whiteboard within the retro is a point of differentiation for Echometer compared to other tools for retrospectives such as Parabol. In Echometer, you can create a separate whiteboard for each topic within the retro and thus optimally control the focus of the discussion.
  • Finally, Echometer enables the retrospective to be concluded by anonymously asking the entire team about the ROTI score on a scale of 0 to 10 (i.e. the "Return on Time Invested"): This helps the team and in particular the retrospective moderator to continuously improve the quality of the retrospectives within the team itself.

Given this unique, structured and flexible retrospective process, combined with the range of functions, Echometer is often described as the best tool for agile retrospectives.

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