Two Truths and a Lie Retrospective
2 min readJan 18, 2020
Retrospectives help individuals and team members to learn and improve.
Some sprints ago, my new team and I started experimenting with “Two Truths and a Lie” format as a data gathering activity for a Retrospective, instead of using it just as an energizer.
I suggest to use it when you want to create an atmosphere that is much more funny for your Retrospective.
Length of time:
Depending on the size of the team, 60 minutes should be enough.
How it works:
- Ask the team to think back about the last Sprint and to take five minutes to write three statements about it, of which, two will be true and one will be a lie.
- After time is over, suggest to a first person to announce his 2 truths and 1 lie in any order; the others in the group will have to find the right answer.
- Move onto the next team member and continue until everyone has revealed their statements.
- Group any related Truths and Lies with a “must improve” connotation and discuss as one team.
- Each person votes, editing their choice adding “+1”. They can put all their votes on one group of items or on different ones.
- The top three areas are carried for brainstrorming.
- After a Braistorming session, define actions for improvements you want to make (use a model as a support for example S.M.A.R.T., Acceptance criteria or Definition of Done).
- Vote on the most important actions to take forward for next sprint.
Conclusion :
Your team may really enjoy the “Two Truths and a Lie” Retrospective.
It can provide a good guide for developing team decisions.
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