{"id":1205,"date":"2015-03-17T14:48:46","date_gmt":"2015-03-17T14:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/masteringtheobvious.wordpress.com\/?p=303"},"modified":"2015-03-17T14:48:46","modified_gmt":"2015-03-17T14:48:46","slug":"rollin-rollin-rollin-using-story-cubes-to-jazz-up-team-retrospectives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agilepartnership.com\/fr\/rollin-rollin-rollin-using-story-cubes-to-jazz-up-team-retrospectives\/","title":{"rendered":"Rollin\u2019 Rollin\u2019 Rollin’: Using Story Cubes to jazz up team retrospectives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you looking for a simple way to liven up your retrospectives? \u00a0In my coaching engagements, I often encounter\u00a0teams that are\u00a0having ineffective retrospectives because they always take the same approach to framing the discussion. Using the same format for every retrospective preordains a very similar conversation each time, and it won\u2019t take long for team members to start grumbling that the retrospectives aren\u2019t working for them, creating a Doom Loop\u00a0of disengagement.\"StoryCubees\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had surprising successes dropping\u00a0a\u00a0handful\u00a0of Rory\u2019s Story Cubes<\/a> on the table and suggesting \u201cHey, maybe\u00a0we can use these to have a team conversation?\u201d. \u00a0Story Cubes share\u00a0some of the magical properties of using LEGO Serious Play<\/a> to spark\u00a0a serious conversation: they\u2019re fun, they\u2019re tactile, and they\u2019re easy to use. \u00a0More introverted team members who might be\u00a0intimidated\u00a0by being asked to do improv\u00a0don\u2019t seem to notice when there are Story Cubes involved. \u00a0By breathing\u00a0a spirit of playfulness into the conversation, and engaging fingers as well as tongues, the people at the table will\u00a0share ideas that haven\u2019t surfaced in previous retrospectives. \u00a0It\u2019s also a great technique for dragging\u00a0the conversation out of the rut of endless griping that some retrospectives seem to fall into.<\/p>\n

Story Cubes are easy to use, and can be adapted to a number of different purposes. \u00a0The Original set\u00a0is enough to work with, though including another set such as the Actions (particularly useful for Retros) or some of new Mix-ins can help inspire greater creativity.<\/p>\n

Here are some ways that you might incorporate Story Cubese\u00a0into your next retrospective:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Check In:<\/strong>\u00a0One person rolls, then each\u00a0participant picks one cube and offers\u00a0an associated word to complete\u00a0a simple check-in statement, such as\u00a0\u201cThe last sprint was great because\u2026\u201d or \u201cToday, I\u2019m feeling like\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Data Gathering:<\/strong> Use the cubes to inspire the story of the retrospective. \u00a0Dana Pylayava suggests:<\/a> \u00a0\u201cEveryone picks 1 image as his view of last sprint. Speaking in turns, team builds the shared story in 9 cubes\u201d. \u00a0There really are no rules here: have each person choose one cube or a few; people can roll again if they come up dry in continuing the story. Or have each person roll and then use all the cubes to tell a short individual story about their experience of the sprint.<\/li>\n
  3. Gathering insights:\u00a0<\/strong>To mix things up and really boost ideation, try combining\u00a0Story Cubes\u00a0with brain-writing<\/a> to encourage everyone to generate ideas about why things are the way they are. \u00a0Roll the cubes, have each participant silently write as many ideas as possible on individual post-its using the images on the cubes as inspiration in identifying patterns, themes, and connections. Roll the cubes again and repeat. \u00a0Then use silent affinity grouping to\u00a0assemble the big picture before starting to talk about what\u2019s been revealed.<\/li>\n
  4. Deciding what to do:<\/strong> This is where the Actions or Voyages cubes\u00a0might be particularly useful to draw out creative\u00a0ideas about \u201cWhat is the thing we should do differently next sprint to be more successful?\u201d. \u00a0Use the cubes to brainstorm as many ideas as possible about what types of actions will get the team to the desired destination (and then make a collective decision about which one to focus on, of course!).<\/li>\n
  5. Closing the retrospective:<\/strong> Similar to the Check In, have participants select an image from a cube to help them complete a closing\u00a0statement, such as \u201cOur next sprint will be better because\u2026.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    While I\u2019ve offered ideas\u00a0for how to use Story Cubes for any phase of a retrospective, I wouldn\u2019t recommend using them\u00a0for the entire thing. \u00a0Choose one or two of the phases and combine using Story Cubes with other techniques for soliciting input \u2013 this is a great way to start especially\u00a0if your team is unaccustomed to\u00a0using playful props to do serious work.<\/p>\n

    Some other ideas for how to use\u00a0Story Cubes in retros:<\/p>\n