agile retrospectivesMagdalena Sitarek

why retrospect?

the team sets aside a brief, dedicated period at the end of each sprint to deliberately reflect on how they are doing and to find ways to improve.

to-do

● step back● reflect● emphasize● examine● analyse● identify wins● identify issues

remember !

you want to create an atmosphere where people can focus, open up, get to the root cause of their issues, give

feedback

a retrospective is not...

● a time to blame people

Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities,

the resources available, and the situation at hand

● a forum for fixing everything○ retro often, and make small, incremental changes each time

preparation

time for conductingteam focus

time for review and implementation

Outcome

start - stop - continue

Issues ?

● too many retrospectives fail to deliver value● too often are boring, painful, senseless● lack of focus and real participation

how to make it better ?

○ What is the safety level?○ How experienced are they in giving feedback?○ What sort of issues do you expect to hear about?○ Do they need to dig deep into an 1 obvious issue, or do they

need to brainstorm and mix things up?○ Is an outside facilitator more appropriate?

set the focus

of a retrospective(s)

make sure we focus only on 1 thing covered and everybody understand it

gather data

give voice

brainstorm

set other concerns aside

document

follow up

discussion → action

technicalities

● Generate insights○ Team members write down on post-its and put them up on the board○ Moderator takes a few min to "aggregate" the issues and mentally sort through

them● Plan of action

○ Team discusses the post-its○ Comes up with action items, if needed○ (don't have to have an action item for every point--sometimes the discussion is

enough)● Close

○ Moderator reviews action items

Quadrant 1: Frown face for aspects you disliked, should be changed

Quadrant 2: Smiley face for aspects you liked, should be repeated

Quadrant 3: Light bulb for new ideas to try

Quadrant 4: Bouquet for people you appreciated

more: https://www.thekua.com/rant/2006/03/the-retrospective-starfish/

https://www.thekua.com/rant/2006/03/a-retrospective-timeline/

big picture - sailboat

things that slow it down (anchors)

things that propel it forward (wind)

things to look out for (iceberg)

Questions?Comments?

Ideas?

Thanks