Personal Maps are a tool to build empathy between team members and a deeper understanding of each other on a personal level.
Personal Maps help teams build and strengthen connectedness – a key behaviour of team agility.
Above: Example of a Personal Map [2]
People is an important aspect of the Retrospective
Don't fall into the trap of just reviewing and improving process at the Retrospective. The Retrospective is an opportunity to inspect people, process and/or tools and create actions for improvement.
TRY THIS
In a Retrospective:
Download and print the template.
10 min: Each person makes a Personal Map about themselves.
10 min: Ask people to pair-up and exchange their maps and present them.
Return to the group.
30 min: Each person presents the other person’s Personal Map.
Share the things you had in common.
Share the things that surprised you.
Categories
A Personal Map starts with the following 8 core categories:
Home
What is your home life like? Where do you live?
Education
What studies, courses, degrees have you done?
Work
What's your job, role and what do you like about the work you do?
Hobbies
What do you like doin gin your spare time?
Family
Who are your family members, pets, and relatives?
Friends
Who are the people you love to hang-out with when not at work?
Values
What principles and ethics do you hold most dear?
Goals
What do you want to achieve in life?
Download
Download the PDF template for Personal Maps to use in your Retrospectives.
1. Litvin, D. and betters-Reed, B. (2005). The Personal Map: A lessons in similarities, differences, and the invisible. Journal of Management Education 29 (2):199-217.
2. Craft Chellenges. Personal Maps. Online at: agilepartner.github.io/craft-challenges/culture/personal-map.html