Agile Retrospectives

6.1 Activity: Brainstorming/Filtering

Use this to generate insights in an iteration, release, or project retrospective.

Purpose

Generate a large number of ideas and filter them against a defined set of criteria.

Time Needed

Forty to sixty minutes.

Description

Team members generate ideas using traditional brainstorming, then test whether each idea is applicable to the current situation.

Steps

1. Introduce the activity by saying “Because we need to push beyond our usual thinking, we’re going to spend the next chunk of time brainstorming. Once we’ve generated new approaches, we’ll filter the ideas to find the ones that fit best for our situation.”

2. Describe the guidelines for brainstorming (Figure 12, ​Typical guidelines for brainstorming​).

   

   Figure 12. Typical guidelines for brainstorming

   Challenge the group to come up with fifty ideas, and set the time limit, usually ten to fifteen minutes.

3. Brainstorm using one of three methods:

   • Brainstorming Method 1: Free-for-all. People call out ideas at random.

   • Brainstorming Method 2: Round-robin. Pass a “talking token” around the circle. Only the person holding the talking token can talk. It’s OK to pass when your turn comes.

   • Brainstorming Method 3: Give people five to seven minutes to silently and individually generate and write down ideas. When the time is up, use Brainstorming Method 1 or 2.

   • Monitor time, ...