Set The Stage

The “Set the Stage” step in a retrospective prepares the team for the work that lies ahead.

The main goal of setting the stage is to create a place and time in which people can feel safe (see the Retrospective Prime Directive).

Another goal is to create or remember a working agreement, a set of rules the team uses to work productively (in this case, to do a productive retro).

Activities

Essential

• Introduce Topic and Agenda

Check-Ins

• Check-in Questions
• ESVP

To support effective participation

• Focus On - Focus Off
• Retrospective Working Agreements

To build and enforce safety

• Retrospective Prime Directive
• Fill-in-the-blanks
• Temperature Reading