Purpose

The ESVP activity is a quick anonymous poll that reveals the room's mindset at the start of a retrospective. Participants classify themselves as an Explorer (eager to learn), Shopper (looking for one useful takeaway), Vacationer (happy to be away from work), or Prisoner (would rather not be here). The results help the facilitator gauge engagement and adjust the session accordingly.

At a glance

• Group size: 4–20 people
• Duration: 10 minutes
• Difficulty: Beginner
• Facilitation style: Structured
• Setting: Both / Remote-friendly

How to run

1. Explain the four roles: Explorer, Shopper, Vacationer, Prisoner.
2. Each participant anonymously selects one role (paper slip or digital poll) (2 minutes).
3. Tally and display the results as a bar chart (1 minute).
4. Discuss the results without identifying individuals (5 minutes).
5. Destroy the individual ballots to preserve anonymity. Adjust the retro format if needed (2 minutes).

Materials needed

• Paper slips and a hat/bowl (or digital polling tool)
• Whiteboard for the tally
• Timer

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Breaking anonymity by asking who chose what — never do this.
• Ignoring a high Prisoner count and proceeding as usual — address it.
• Using ESVP every single sprint, which makes it stale; use it periodically.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Anonymity is the core feature — ensure it is genuinely maintained.
• Explain the categories clearly; Prisoner can feel loaded, so frame it neutrally.
• Use digital polls for remote teams to maintain privacy.

Variations

• Traffic-Light ESVP: combine with a red/amber/green mood indicator.
• ESVP + Why: after the anonymous poll, optionally invite volunteers to share why.
• Pre/Post ESVP: run at the start and end to see if the retro changed people's engagement.

When NOT to use this

• When the team is very small (under 4) and anonymity cannot be maintained.
• When there is already high trust and openness — the exercise may feel unnecessary.

Source & further reading

• Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great by Esther Derby and Diana Larsen.
• Retromat (retromat.org).