In the Sailboat retrospective, the team imagines themselves sailing together on a sailboat, heading toward a specific destination—an island representing project success or the achievement of sprint goals. We draw the elements on a board.
Elements that symbolize various aspects of teamwork:
- Wind: Represents everything that drives the team forward, meaning the factors that support the achievement of goals. These could be best practices, strong collaboration, successful implementations, or innovative solutions.
- Anchors: Represent obstacles and problems that hinder progress. These are negative factors, such as inefficient processes, communication barriers, or technical issues that slow down development.
- Invisible Threats: Sometimes the Sailing Ship retrospective also allows for the identification of potential, yet-to-be-existing problems—such as "icebergs"—that could catch the team off guard if not detected early.
Preparing the Board
The facilitator draws a large image of a sailing ship sailing towards an island on a whiteboard or flipchart. On the board, they mark out spaces for notes related to “wind,” “anchors,” and potential threats.
Generating Ideas
Each team member is given sticky notes and asked to write down their observations:
- What worked well in the last sprint and accelerated progress (wind)?
- What hindered our progress, slowed us down, or caused problems (anchors)?
- What potential risks might arise in the near future (e.g., unforeseen obstacles)?
Adding Notes
Participants stick their notes in the appropriate places on the board, assigning them to metaphorical elements.
Discussion
The moderator leads the discussion, encouraging the team to delve deeper into the points they’ve written down. It’s crucial to discuss:
- How to increase the “wind”—that is, strengthen the actions that help us achieve our goals.
- How to eliminate or minimize “anchors”—that is, remove obstacles that hold us back.
- How to prepare for potential threats before they become a problem.
Determining Actions
Based on the identified areas, the team formulates specific, measurable actions for the next sprint. The goal is to maintain or strengthen positive elements and eliminate negative factors.
