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
Education
Work
Hobbies
Family
Friends
Values
Goals
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