HKSM
Speed Boat
A facilitation game for the Retrospect Sprint Meeting (sprint retrospective) where the team imagines they are the crew of a speedboat aiming for an island that represents the project vision. Participants jot down on sticky notes the engines that propel them toward the goal and the anchors that slow them down or hold them back. The activity is time-boxed to a short, fixed duration and informs improvement actions.
Key Points
- Used during the sprint retrospective to surface helpers (engines) and hindrances (anchors).
- The island symbolizes the project vision or sprint goal; the boat is the team.
- Sticky notes capture specific engines (enablers) and anchors (impediments).
- Time-boxed to a few minutes, leading to concrete follow-up actions.
Example
In a mobile app team's retrospective, the Scrum Master runs Speed Boat. Team members note "automated smoke tests" and "pair programming" as engines, and "flaky test environment" and "unclear acceptance criteria" as anchors. The group then selects top anchors to address next sprint and assigns owners for actions.
PMP Example Question
During a retrospective, the team identifies "engines" that help them reach the product vision and "anchors" that slow progress, placing each on sticky notes. Which technique are they using?
- Start-Stop-Continue
- Speed Boat
- 5 Whys
- Affinity Diagram
Correct Answer: B — Speed Boat exercise used in retrospectives to identify drivers and impediments
Explanation: The Speed Boat technique frames progress as a boat heading to an island (vision), with engines (enablers) and anchors (impediments) captured on sticky notes to guide improvement actions.
