Facilitation · 45-60 minutes

Sailboat Retrospective

The Sailboat is a visual metaphor-based retrospective technique designed to help teams identify forces that propel them forward and obstacles that hold them back. By using the imagery of a sailboat, teams can collaboratively surface insights and prioritize improvements in a low-friction, engaging format.

When to use Sailboat Retrospective

This framework is most effective during Agile retrospectives, project post-mortems, or team alignment sessions where a holistic view of team dynamics and environmental factors is required.

How Sailboat Retrospective works

Facilitators can integrate this framework into the 'Reflect' or 'Review' stage of a learning cycle or project sprint. It serves as a structured bridge between raw data collection and concrete action planning, utilizing visual thinking to categorize team sentiment.

Phases of Sailboat Retrospective

  1. Preparation
  2. Introduction & Metaphor Setup
  3. Data Gathering
  4. Insight Generation & Grouping
  5. Prioritization (Dot Voting)
  6. Action Planning

Key principles

  • Metaphorical Thinking: Using 'wind' and 'anchors' to lower defensive barriers.
  • Self-Organization: Allowing the team to group and label their own data points.
  • Democratic Prioritization: Using dot voting to ensure the team focuses on the most impactful issues.
  • Visual Collaboration: Creating a shared mental model through a central workspace.

Best for

  • Agile Team Retrospectives
  • Project Debriefs
  • Continuous Improvement Workshops

Considerations

  • Requires sufficient physical or digital canvas space for all participants to contribute simultaneously.
  • Facilitators must monitor energy levels and prompt participation if data gathering stalls.
  • The grouping phase requires active facilitation to ensure dominant voices do not override the collective consensus.

Attribution & sources

Developed by Luke Hohmann, originally featured in 'Innovation Games'.

Primary source

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