There are many good check-in methods for starting a retrospective. In this article I would like to present three different retro check-in formats with examples of check-in questions. Each check-in format serves a special purpose and can be easily adapted to the needs of your team and varied.

One thing in advance: we have another article with on this subject: 21 clever retrospective check-ins that will break any ice - feel free to check it out 🙂

Now let’s begin:

Retro Check-In Type 1: Create excitement with check-in games

Retro check-in game on the online whiteboard

Duration: 10-20 minutes | Goal: Encourage fun, creativity

The basic idea: The purpose of this type of check-in is to create engagement and interaction between team members. A wide variety of games are suitable for this. One game format that we particularly like and doesn't require much preparation is the "Guessing Game" quiz.

1. Detailed facilitation instructions (Retrospective Games for new Teams)

Here are the instructions for the "Guessing Game" as a check-in. The best way to share the steps with your team is on your (online) whiteboard:

Each team member chooses an animal and keeps it to themselves. (1 minute)
Then each team member has 2-3 minutes to write 3 facts about their animal.
These can be obvious characteristics such as "has wings", or "facts, figures, data" that can be found with a quick web search, such as "there are approximately 100,000 in Germany".
Now each team member presents their facts. After each fact, all other team members can make a guess as to which animal it is.
If the animal is still not guessed after all three facts, the person has won and receives a point. Otherwise, the person who guesses the animal first gets the point.

If you like this retro method or these questions, you can open them directly in our team development tool Echometer - see above.

Start game

You can also play the check-in game across retrospectives and add up the points over several rounds to determine a “winner” on a regular basis - it’s really fun!

Note: You can adapt this check-in format as you wish and have the team guess car brands, countries, cities, fruits, etc. instead - there are no limits to your creativity. Or even better: actively involve the team and have someone else choose the topic of the check-in guessing game in each retrospective in turn.

Check-in type 2: Getting to know each other better

Retro check-in game on the online whiteboard

Duration: 10-20 minutes | Goal: Getting to know each other, fun

The basic idea: Has your team recently come together and the team members don't know each other well yet? Use a "getting-to-know-you check-in" to give team members the opportunity to get to know each other better on a personal level and to "break the ice". A great check-in question format for this is the "Either-Or Check-In".

1. Detailed facilitation instructions (Retrospective Games for new Teams)

Write a list of alternative positions to categories such as "Food", "Music", "Sport", "Drinks". Avoid political and religious topics.

Pasta or pizza? (Food)
Chocolate or gummy bears? (Sweets)
Football or basketball? (Sport)
“Game of Thrones” or “Scrubs”? (Series)
Tea or coffee (Drinks)
Sweatpants or jeans (Clothing)
K-Pop or Schlager (Music genre)

For the best getting-to-know-you effect, design the format so that each team member not only takes a position via a post-it, but also has the chance to comment verbally. Simply sharing stickies with your own name without explaining your own positioning, on the other hand, is not very effective.

Depending on the team size and time slot for the check-in, you should keep the list of pairs of terms short. Allow approximately half a minute per check-in question and participant. For 4 check-in questions and 6 participants, this would be 12 minutes accordingly.

In general, we would recommend not including more than 6 "either-or questions" in order not to use up the game too quickly.

Start game

Again, feel free to adapt this check-in format to your team’s interests and vary it each time for the necessary variety. It’s also a great idea to have team members prepare this format in turn - who knows what creative ideas will emerge from the team.

If you have trouble coming up with ideas for either/or questions, there’s more on the Internet: Inspiration for more either/or questions.

Check-in type 3: Stimulate self-reflection with metaphors

Retro check-in game on the online whiteboard

Duration: 10-20 minutes | Goal: Fun, reflection of the last Scrum Sprint

The basic idea: You want to stimulate self-reflection right from the start of the retrospective check-in? Then this third type of check-in is very suitable! Metaphors are particularly suitable for stimulating self-reflection, helping the team to look at the collaboration or the results from a new perspective.

1. Detailed facilitation instructions (Retrospective Games for new Teams)

For the image above, ask the question:

Of the following cars - which best reflects the last sprint and why?

Here are a few more examples of metaphors:

Imagine you are writing a newspaper article about the last sprint: What would be the headline of the article?
Which image best reflects your role in the last sprint?

Start game

If you like these retro methods or check-in methods, you can open them directly in our team development tool Echometer - see above.

Here, too, there are many ways to vary the check-in formats - both the selection of images and the categories themselves.

Another varied option: Health Checks as Retro Check-In

Quick health check’s can also be a fun check-in for retrospective. In health checks, different statements are presented to the team and each team member expresses agreement on a scale.

It should be added that you have often already drifted into the data-gathering phase and discussions - but that’s not so bad.

You can open a Health Check Retrospective Check-In directly with our Health Check & Retro Tool and conduct it online with your team (Echometer without registration). Here, for example, is our template on the subject of team spirit - feel free to take a look:

Team Morale Health Check 😇: How the retro works

Random Icebreaker (2-5 minutes)

Echometer provides you with a generator for random check-in questions.
Review of open actions (2-5 minutes)

Before starting with new topics, you should talk about what has become of the measures from past retrospectives to check their effectiveness. Echometer automatically lists all open action items from past retros.
Health Check

All team members can answer the health checks anonymously on a scale. Then go through the results of the health checks together and record any additional comments if necessary. If you use the same health checks in several retrospectives, you can also track trends over time in Echometer.
- 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.
Discuss retro topics

Use the following open questions to collect your most important findings. First, everyone does it themselves, covered. Echometer allows you to reveal each column of the retro board individually in order to then present and group the feedback.
Catch-all question (Recommended)

So that other topics also have a place:
- What else would you like to talk about in the retro?
Prioritization / Voting (5 minutes)

On the retro board in Echometer, you can easily prioritize the feedback with voting. The voting is of course anonymous.
Define actions (10-20 minutes)

You can create a linked action via the plus symbol on a feedback. Not sure which measure would be the right one? Then open a whiteboard on the topic via the plus symbol instead to brainstorm root causes and possible measures.
Checkout / Closing (5 minutes)

Echometer enables you to collect anonymous feedback from the team on how helpful the retro was. This creates the ROTI score ("Return On Time Invested"), which you can track over time.

Team Morale Health Check 😇

Health Check Questions (Scale)

Appreciation: My colleagues appreciate my contribution to the team.