easy retro presentation mode

When you access your board’s settings by clicking on the “settings” button, you’ll have access to the features you can use on your board.

Whether you are new here or want to know more about each one of the features you can use on your board, this article is for you!

Here are each one of the features you can use. Plus, a brief description of each one of them:

Facilitator controls

Hide cards: When you use this feature, you'll hide all the card's information. You and the participants will only be able to see your own cards. As the board's owner, you can use the "Show cards only for me" feature. With this feature, you can reveal all cards just for you.

Disable voting: When you use this feature, no one (including you) will be able to vote.

Hide vote count: When you use this feature, no one (including you) will be able to see the vote count.

One vote per card: When you use this feature, all the participants (including you) will be able to vote only once per card.

Show card's author: When you use this feature, you’ll be able to see the participants’ names under each card. Anonymous users will be shown as “anonymous.” Unless you use the “enable anonymous names” feature.

Presentation mode: When you use this feature, you’ll hide your votes, so when you share your screen, participants won’t be able to see where you voted. If you are not the Owner of the board and use this feature, the menu of your cards will also be hidden.

Highlight mode: When you use this feature, the cards on the board will be highlighted. For example, when someone moves their mouse upon a card, this card will be highlighted, and all the participants will see this card highlighted.

Max votes per board: Add here how many votes each participant can use on the whole board. Use the "+" sign and the "-" sign to change the number of votes.

Max votes per column: Add here how many votes each participant can use in each column. Use the "+" sign and the "-" sign to change the number of votes.

Disable moving cards: When you use this feature, no one (including you) will be able to move the cards.

Disable add/edit cards: When you use this feature, no one (including you) will be able to add new cards and edit the cards.

Allow anyone to edit: When you use this feature, you’ll allow every participant to edit any cards on the board.

Enable anonymous names: Anonymous users can now add their names when joining a public board. Use this feature to enable them to add their names.

Hide Prime Directive: Next to your user’s name on the board. You can see the Prime Directive. Use this feature to hide Prime Directive.

Enable GIFs: When you use this feature, all the participants will be able to add gifs to the board.

Secure board with password: With this feature, you can add a password to your board. Only participants with the password will be able to access your board.

Copy board to clipboard: Use this feature to copy all your board’s information.

Import CSV: Use this feature to import a CSV file.

Export board: With this feature, you can export your board in different formats (PDF, CSV, PNG, EXCEL, DOCX, and CONFLUENCE).

Show/hide comments: Use this feature to show and hide all the comments on your board at once.

Danger zone

Reset all votes: With this feature, you can reset all votes on your board.

Archive board: Use this feature to archive your board. Archived boards won’t be accessible by participants anymore. You can unarchive your board at any time.

Delete all cards: Use this feature to delete all the cards on your board.

Delete board: Use this feature to delete your board.

How to run a sprint retrospective in EasyRetro

Running retros is not that easy and it can be hard sometimes if you don’t have everything planned and a framework in mind. So this post will help you to do your first sprint retrospective in a few basic steps.

First you should invite everyone involved on the team to participate on the retrospective and assign a facilitator to guide it. The facilitator can be someone from the team or someone from outside that the team is comfortable with sharing details with.

You can start by creating a board on EasyRetro and if you want to simplify things you can select the basic template “ Went well - To improve - Action Items ” and select 6 votes per person default option.

A sprint retrospective consist of 5 basic steps:

1 - Review last retro

Before starting the retro you can review with your team your last action items and discuss what was completed and what was not. In this step you can discuss the blockers and if the action item should be moved to the next sprint or not.

2 - Brainstorm

Start your retro by asking your participants to do a brainstorm individually and write cards on “Went well” and “To improve” columns. Those cards should reflect things or feelings that happened on the last sprint and people think it’s worth sharing it.

A facilitator can control this step by allowing people to write for 10 minutes, after 10 minutes is done, everyone should stop writing.

3 - Merge similar cards

In this step the facilitator should read card by card and ask people if they think that card should be merged with another one on the board. If everyone agrees they should be merged, the facilitator can merge them.

After merging the cards the facilitator can asign 5 minutes for people to vote on the cards they want to discuss, each person will have 3 votes for the “Went well” column and 3 more for the “To improve” column.

5 - Discussion and Action items

After everyone voted on the cards, you can sort the columns by votes and select the top 3 most voted cards to be discussed with everyone. You can start with the most voted card and read out-loud to everyone. After that the team can discuss how the issue can be fixed and what constructive things can be done. After that you can do the same with the other 2 cards, or more, if there’s enough time for it.

When people agree to create an action item, the facilitator can write the card on the “Action items” column and write the name of the person assigned to it.

The action items should follow the SMART format: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.

This step should last about 20 minutes or until your team discussed the most voted cards.

This is the most basic format to do a retrospective, it’s not the best one but one that works. You can follow the steps and also customise in order to best fit your team process.

Want to create a free retrospective with your team?

How to Run a Sprint Retrospective on EasyRetro

October 18, 2023 scrumexpert Tools 0

Are you ready to elevate your Scrum team’s retrospective game? Running retrospectives can be a breeze with the right tools and a solid framework in place. Enter EasyRetro – the platform that streamlines your retrospective process and turns it into a fun and productive Agile team activity.

In this article, we will guide you through the basic steps of running a sprint retrospective on EasyRetro. But before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let’s explore the fantastic benefits of using EasyRetro with your team.

Why Choose EasyRetro for Your Sprint Retrospective?

It’s Free: With EasyRetro’s free version , you can create up to three new boards every month, making it accessible to teams of all sizes.

Seamless Sharing: Easily share your boards with your team using a simple board link. No need for team members to create accounts on EasyRetro.

Organize and Filter: Access all your past retrospectives and effortlessly organize and filter them through an intuitive dashboard.

Pre-defined Templates: Choose from over 200+ pre-defined templates for your retro sessions, ensuring variety and engagement.

Rich Media Features : Enhance your retrospectives with surveys, custom images, and GIFs to make feedback more interactive.

Unlimited Collaboration: Invite an unlimited number of participants to join your board and collaborate effectively.

Customization: Have access to fully customizable boards.

Comments and Voting: Add comments to cards and vote on them to prioritize issues and ideas effectively.

Easy Sorting: Sort cards by dates, votes, and more with a simple drag-and-drop functionality.

Timer Feature: Keep discussions on track with a timer on your board.

Integration: Integrate EasyRetro seamlessly into your workflow with popular tools like Slack, Confluence, Jira, and Trello.

Export Options: Export your boards in various formats, including PDF, CSV, PNG, Excel, and DOCX.

Organization Admins: Add organization admins to manage their teams and retrospectives efficiently.

Access Control: Easily add or remove users and maintain control over who can access your boards.

Historical Insights: See the history of your retrospectives.

Analytics Dashboard: Monitor your retrospective performance with a handy analytics page providing basic information.

Please note that while many of these features are available for free, EasyRetro also offers a 7-day free trial of its premium features.

Getting Started with EasyRetro

Before diving into your sprint retrospective, there are three essential steps to follow:

1. Create an Account: Begin by creating an account on EasyRetro, either through email and password or by signing up with Google. Click here to register .

2. Choose Your Retro Template: To keep your retrospectives engaging, diversify your retro formats. EasyRetro offers over 200 pre-defined templates to choose from. For the purpose of this guide, we recommend starting with the basic “Went well – To improve – Action Items” template.

3. Invite Your Team: Involve everyone on your team in the retrospective to ensure diverse perspectives. If needed, you can streamline the process by designating a facilitator as a team admin within EasyRetro. This facilitator can guide the retrospective effectively.

Next, share the link to your board with your team members, making it easy for them to join the session seamlessly. The best part? They can access your public board without the need to create an account on EasyRetro, making the onboarding process hassle-free.

With these steps, you’ll have your team on board and ready to make your retrospectives a collaborative success!

5 Basic Steps to Run a Sprint Retrospective on EasyRetro

Now that you’ve set the stage, let’s get into the core steps of running a sprint retrospective on EasyRetro:

Step 1. Review Last Retro: Start by reviewing your team’s last retrospective. Discuss the completion status of the previous action items and identify any blockers. EasyRetro provides an action items page to easily track the status of your previous retro’s action items.

Step 2. Brainstorm: Kickstart your retrospective with a lively brainstorming session. Encourage each participant to independently jot down their thoughts and feelings from the previous sprint. These insights should be placed under the “Went well” and “To improve” columns on the board.

To keep things on track and ensure everyone gets a fair chance, consider using EasyRetro’s handy timer feature. Set a time limit, such as 10 minutes, for participants to capture their ideas. Once the timer signals the end, it’s time to regroup and move forward with the next phase of your retro.

Step 3. Merge Similar Cards: Now, it’s time to streamline your ideas. Here’s how it works: The facilitator goes through each card one by one and asks participants if they believe a card should be merged with another one already on the board. If everyone agrees that two cards essentially cover the same topic or issue, the facilitator can proceed to merge them.

Step 4. Votes: After merging cards, allocate 5 minutes for team members to vote on the cards they want to discuss. Each person can cast three votes for “Went well” and three more for “To improve.” EasyRetro allows you to adjust the number of votes as needed.

Step 5. Discussion and Action Items: Now, let’s dive into the heart of your retrospective – discussions and actionable outcomes. Here’s how to make it happen:

• Discuss Top Voted Cards: After everyone has cast their votes, sort the columns by votes and identify the top three most-voted cards. Begin with the highest-voted card, and read it aloud to the team. Encourage open dialogue on how to address the issue and generate constructive solutions. Repeat this process for the other two most-voted cards, or more if time allows.
• Create Action Items: When a consensus is reached on addressing a particular issue, it’s time to convert it into an actionable item. The facilitator should document the action item in the “Action Items” column and assign it to a team member responsible for implementation.
• SMART Action Items: Ensure that your action items adhere to the  SMART format : Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. This clarity sets the stage for successful execution.
• Time Allocation: Plan for this step to last about 20 minutes or until your team has thoroughly discussed the most-voted cards. Remember, this format serves as a foundational approach, and you can tailor it to suit your team’s unique processes and needs.

With these steps, your team will navigate discussions efficiently, resulting in actionable takeaways for continuous improvement. It’s a simple yet effective way to make your retrospectives work for you.

With a plethora of retrospective tools available, EasyRetro stands out with its mission to provide a user-friendly platform that requires no extensive training. Users often praise its simplicity and effectiveness. If you’re still unsure if EasyRetro is the right fit for your team, check out our “Wall of Love Page,” where our community shares their love for EasyRetro and their experiences using it. Explore our “Wall of Love Page” here .

Running a sprint retrospective can be a breeze when you have EasyRetro on your side. So, gather your team, try it out, and watch your retrospectives become more engaging, productive, and fun. Happy retrospecting!

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Using presentation mode

Using the PRESENTATION MODE  better facilitates a discussion by showing one main idea at a time across all of the team members' devices. This lets you sync and focus the conversation while allowing you to capture live feedback.

• Live reactions - each person can react to the comments and what is being said by others.
• Move slower/faster - each person can indicate if they would like the meeting to slow down or speed up.
• Quick poll - Ask a question and have people respond via a quick thumbs up/down.
• Raise hand - when a participant has a question or comment.

Only the facilitators can initiate presentation mode by clicking on PRESENT in the BRAINSTORM , OPEN ACTIONS , VOTE or DISCUSS steps.

Example of presentation mode in a Retrospective

Example of presentation mode in a Health Check

You can PRESENT ideas in each of the following steps.

• BRAINSTORM - Present ideas one by one to allow people to quickly share what each one means or to clarify a topic before moving on. You scan sort or show who added the ideas (if not an anonymous retrospective) so that each person can talk through their ideas in turn.
• GROUP  - Present ideas and allow others to suggest recommended ideas for grouping. Ideas can be sorted in original order or by who added the idea.
• DISCUSS  -  Present ideas one by one for in depth discussion after voting. Ideas can be sorted by the number of votes to determine priority and action items can be captured during this mode.

At each of the presentation modes, team members can add reactions, comments, and actions as needed.  As you move to the next idea, everyone will automatically be moved to the next idea and follow along. This allows to control the pace.

STOP PRESENTING  takes you out of presentation mode and lets each team member navigate around ideas and categories freely on their own.

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Related Articles

• Introduction to retrospectives
• The retrospective process - VOTE
• The retrospective process - BRAINSTORM
• The retrospective process - GROUP
• The retrospective process - DISCUSS
• The health check process - DISCUSS

• Retrospectives
• Health Checks

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Easily run retros with guided facilitation techniques for face-to-face or remote teams. avoid group-think and bias. focus on what matters and create actions that drive continuous improvement., say goodbye to time-wasting, boring and ineffective retrospectives teamretro gives scrum-masters, agile coaches and teams a safe space to ideate, gather inspiration and foster a collaborative spirit. our retrospective exercises and plays can be tailored to meet the dynamics, culture and persona of your team. real time interactive design keeps your team engaged and participating throughout the whole retrospective., boost engagement.

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Choose your retrospective

Design your perfect retro from our library, AI generated suggestions, or create your own. Add check in questions and ice-breakers.

Share ideas freely

Brainstorm without fear with anonymity, gifs, comments and reactions in a safe, secure environment.

Quickly combine ideas

Use our auto-suggest feature to save you time or drag and drop related ideas together.

Focus the conversations

Independent voting keeps things real allowing the team to decide on where the focus should be.

Present, discuss and create actions

Easily facilitate discussion in order of priority. Use Presentation Mode to sync everyone’s screens to capture comments and actions.

Integrates with your existing workflow

Publish actions into your workflow tools and instantly share summaries and reports at a touch of a button.

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Discover trends, patterns and get a sense of team sentiment that can help level up your teams with data driven insights.

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A great tool for a collaborative retrospective

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