Remember the good old days when you played Snakes and Ladders? It’s that classic board game we all know. Whether you played it as a kid or just heard about it, you probably know the drill. It makes you feel nostalgic and remember the elements of this classic board game can be used in a Retrospective activity to reflect and improve as a team.
Now, imagine using the idea of Snakes and Ladders to talk about how things went in a project or team. It’s like a trip down memory lane, but with a work twist.
When we create activities like this for reflection, it makes the whole process simpler. It’s like turning a familiar game into a helpful tool. As a facilitator, it’s crucial to be inclusive. People are different, and we want everyone to feel comfortable. Before diving into activities based on games or movies, make sure everyone knows the basics. A quick recap can help. This way, everyone is on the same page, and the activity becomes easy to follow.
In this case checking with the participants if they have ever played Snakes and Ladder board game or know how to play it can be a good question to start with. In case if some participants have no idea about this board game, give a short intro — there are number squares from 1 to 100, you roll the dice and move your game piece along numbered squares. If you land on a Ladder, you climb up. But if you land on a Snake, you slide down. The goal is to reach the last square first (100th square). It’s a game of luck and surprises — climbing up with Ladders and sliding down with Snakes!”
In our Snakes and Ladders Retrospective, we use the game’s elements to talk about what went well and what didn’t in our project or sprint. We represent problems as Snakes, actions as getting swallowed, and outcomes as sliding down. For successes, we use Ladders, with actions as climbing and outcomes as moving up.
Participants don’t just say if something worked or didn’t; they also dig deeper to find why. For problems, they identify the action (like getting swallowed by a Snake) and the outcome (sliding down), understanding the root cause. For successes, they think about the actions (climbing a Ladder) and the outcome (moving up), figuring out what led to the positive result. It helps us learn and improve for the next round!
Facilitation
Ladders:
Use 2 or more sticky notes for describing the success/achievements, first think about the achievement, note it down and place the sticky note at the top of the Ladder, now think about what was the cause that pushed you up to achieve it. There could be multiple reasons, now note them down and place the sticky note at the bottom of the ladder.
● Representing Success: In the context of the game, Ladders represent success. When a participant identifies a success or achievement during the sprint, they should add a sticky note describing the success.
● Identifying the Cause of Success: Participants should think about what contributed to this success. For example, if the success was that the team could work more asynchronously, the cause could be that the team updated JIRA and added more details, which helped promote transparency. This information is also noted on a sticky note and placed at the bottom of the Ladder.
● Visualising Progress: As you continue with the retrospective, more successes and their corresponding causes will be added to the Ladder. This visual representation of progress can be motivating and insightful for the team.
Snakes:
Similarly, use 2 or more sticky notes for describing the blockers, first think about the problem, note it down and place the sticky note at the head of the Snake, now think about what caused the problem, now note it down and place the sticky note at the tail of the Snake.
● Representing Challenges and Obstacles: In contrast, Snakes represent the difficulties or obstacles faced during the sprint. When a participant identifies a problem or challenge, they should add a sticky note at the head of the snake to describe the problem. This helps to pinpoint and acknowledge the challenges faced.
● Understanding the Impact: Participants should also think about the impact of the problem. For instance, if the problem is related to a PagerDuty schedule issue, the impact might be that no one attended incoming requests because there was no one appointed to do so. This impact information is noted on a sticky note and placed at the tail of the Snake.
● Visualising Obstacles: Just like with the Ladders, as the retrospective progresses, more challenges and their corresponding impacts will be added to the Snakes. This visual representation allows the team to see the obstacles they have overcome or are still facing and its impact.
Using this approach, the team can see a visual representation of their journey during the sprint or project, which can be both motivating and insightful. It can also help in focusing discussions on what worked well (Ladders) and what can be improved (Snakes) in a fun and interactive way. It’s a great way to foster team collaboration and continuous improvement.
After everyone is done sharing their success and struggles, let the team discuss these topics and derive action items. If there are too many topics to be addressed in the defined time-box go for voting and find the most important topic the team would like to address.
I have facilitated this activity for my teams, participants usually get confused where should the success or problem sticky notes be places and where should the root cause sticky notes be placed. At the top or bottom of the Ladder or similarly at the head or tail of the Snake. Don’t fuss about it or try to make them follow a rule. The main point is to make them think about the action and the outcome, talk about it and brainstorm as a team. It don’t count where they place the sticky notes. What counts is what are they trying to share via this activity.
I hope you have fun facilitating this activity and uncover potential reasons for success and failure. Understand what needs to be continued and what needs to be improved.
Happy facilitating!!!
For more such fun Retro Templates don’t forget to buy the copy of my book. “The Art Of Facilitation”. I have shared some great Retrospective templates and Meeting strategies in the book.
You can also check my other Retrospective templates
HotAir Balloon — I have introduced and element “holes in the ballon” that might take away air if ignored for a long time.
PAC MAN — Another classic video gaming concept used for creating Retrospective template.
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