Why do Scrum Retrospectives Fail?
Most Scrum teams treat retrospectives like yet another long meeting that they need to survive. The team members show up late, laptops stay open, and when the facilitator asks, “What went well this sprint?”, there’s an awkward silence before someone mutters, “Everything’s fine.” But behind those polite smiles, real issues remain unspoken, such as burnout, unclear priorities, and communication gaps. All of this is occurring because the setting doesn’t make them feel safe enough to open up.
What can a Scrum Master Do in this situation?
It was Friday afternoon, the last day of the sprint. Normally, this meant another retrospective in the meeting room where laptops open, sticky notes ready, and that familiar “so what went well?” question hanging in the air.
But that week, the Scrum Master decided to change things up. Instead of booking the usual meeting room, the Scrum Master sent a short message on the team chat: “Retrospective today at 3:00 PM. Pantry. Bring your mug.”
When everyone arrived, there was coffee brewing, and a small chocolate cake on the table. A few eyebrows were raised. Someone even joked, “Wait, are we celebrating or confessing our sins?” We laughed. And that’s how it began.
The Power of a Different Setting
Something shifted that day. Without the formal setup, no slides, no timer, no “round robin” speaking order, people started talking. Not just about what went wrong, but about how they felt.
One developer said, “I got really stressed on Wednesday because the deployment kept failing, and I didn’t want to admit I needed help.” Another replied, “You should’ve said something earlier! We could’ve paired up.”
By the time the cake was half gone, the team had identified three small but meaningful improvements for our next sprint. None of it felt forced. It was organic. Human. Honest. No one was forced to give their comments or thoughts about it. Those who could not contribute or did not contribute were not targeted. They were allowed to observe and take notes.
What struck the Scrum Master later was this: the Scrum Guide never said retrospectives must be formal. It simply said the team inspects how the last Sprint went and creates a plan for improvement. How you do it is completely up to you. This is how the Scrum Master knew that the team was being Agile instead of doing Agile. The team were following the best practices of focusing on improvement but how we did it met our own company culture and settings.
Sometimes, the best retrospectives aren’t in a meeting room with slides. They happen over coffee, when people feel safe enough to speak from the heart instead of the checklist.
It’s Not About the Cake But It Helps
Was it the caffeine? The sugar rush? Probably not. It was the feeling of belonging. The cake was just a prop, a signal that said, “We’re in this together. No hierarchy, no pressure, just reflection.” That one informal session changed how we ran retrospectives from then on. Every sprint, someone volunteered to bring snacks or drinks. It became a ritual and a small celebration of progress, no matter how imperfect.
Final Thoughts
Retrospectives aren’t ceremonies to endure; they’re conversations to connect. So, if your next one feels too mechanical or too quiet, try this: Move to the pantry. Brew some coffee. Share a slice of cake. Because sometimes, the best way to build better teams is to fill their bellies and you can do that in a different atmosphere.
