Retrospectives are an essential part of agile teams. They allow team members to reflect on their work, celebrate their successes, identify their challenges, and plan improvements. But to prevent retrospectives from becoming boring, repetitive, and unproductive, it makes sense to bring variation into the regular meetings.
That's why I want to introduce you to a fun and easy way to spice up your retrospective with M&Ms.
Yes, you heard me right, M&M's.
These colorful and delicious chocolate candies you can find in any supermarket. ▶️🔴🟢🔵🟡🟤
M&M Retrospective Setup
What you need for the M&M Retrospective:
To conduct an M&M retrospective, you will need the following materials:
- A bag of M&Ms. You can choose any size, but make sure it has at least five different colors.
- A bowl. Pour the M&M's into it and mix well.
- A whiteboard or retro tool. With it you write down the questions and the answers for each color.
Of course, you can do an M&M Retro without M&M's and just go for the questions. But with M&M's your team will be twice as engaged – promise!
M&M Retrospective Procedure
How the M&M Retrospective Works:
- At the beginning of the retro, assign a question to each M&M color. For example, you can use green for positive feedback, red for negative feedback, blue for suggestions, yellow for personal questions, and brown for random questions.
- Pack the M&Ms into the bowl and mix well.
- Start the retrospective by asking each team member to take an M&M from the bowl without looking.
- Each team member can now answer the question that corresponds to the color of the M&M drawn. For example, if a red M&M was drawn, the person would have to give "negative" feedback.
- Continue this process until everyone has answered at least one question or until time runs out.
M&M Retrospective examples + template
Sample questions for the M&M Retro:
For example, if someone draws a green M&M, positive feedback should be given. Example questions would be:
- What features have we developed that we are proud of?
- Which team member do you want to give special thanks to in this sprint?
- What did you learn from someone on the team?
Open Feedback Questions
Green (positive feedback): Who did a great job in this sprint?
Red (negative feedback): What mistake did we make?
Blue (suggestions): What can we improve next time?
Yellow (personal question): How do you find peace on a stressful day?
Brown (random question): If you won the lottery, what would you do?
Tips for a lighter retro🔍
Here are some little tips to make the M&M retrospective go by more easily:
- Use the "5 Why" technique to get to the bottom of problems. For example, if someone says they were stressed about a deadline, ask them why that deadline was so tight, why they couldn't get their tasks done sooner, why they didn't ask for help, etc.
- Prioritize improvement actions based on their impact and feasibility. For example, if someone suggests that you should do more code reviews, ask them how much time and effort that would take, how much quality that would improve, and how you could implement it.
- Close the retrospective with a round of feedback. Ask each team member to share what they liked about the retrospective, what they didn't like, and what they would like to change.
Conclusion – M&M Retrospective 🔴🟢🔵🟡🟤
I don't know about you, but for me, the M&M retrospective is a creative way to wrap up a sprint and approach the upcoming sprint in a good mood.
If you like the M&M retrospective, you'll probably like this, too: 26 retrospectives for beginners and professionals.
Do you want to start your first M&M retrospective right away? Then try our Echometer tool for continuous improvement of agile teams:
