The art of the retrospective

The Art of the Retrospective
François Bachmann
Kiev, Agile Eastern Europe 2010

Who’sTalking
François Bachmann
Lean/Agile Coach
18 years of Software Development
Principal @ SPRiNTiT
OrganisationalDevelopment& Team Efficiency Coach
Helpingcompaniesmake the transition to being more agile
Particularinterest :Complex Adaptive Systems
October 9, 2010
AgileEE 2010 - Kyiv, Ukraine

Whatis a Retrospective for?
October 9, 2010

The Retrospective Prime Directive(inspired by Star Trek)
“Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job he or she could, given what was known at the time, his or her skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.”
Norman Kerth
October 9, 2010

Workshop Setup
Tables: active in Workshop
You are a cross-functionalTeam which has quitesuccessfullyworkedtogether for the last release
The WorkshopMasterwill guide yourthrough the 5 phases of a retrospective
Other people: observers
Pleasedon’tinterferewith the tables
You willbeasked for observations & comments
October 9, 2010

The Story
The American Christmas Tale starring:
Santa Claus (ScrumMaster)
Dwarves (Team)
Children (Product Owner)
alsofeaturing
Elves (Quality Assurance)
Reindeers (Delivery)
Parents (Management)
October 9, 2010

Santa Claus (ScrumMaster)
Makes sure the Dwarves (Team) know what to focus on
Looks after a good workingenvironmentwhere the appropriatetools are available
Facilitates the Retrospective
Goal: Make as manychildren as possible HAPPY
October 9, 2010

Dwarves (Team)
Producetoysaccording to incomingorders
Repairdefectivetoys
Load on sledge for delivery
Goal: produce in a smooth & efficient way
October 9, 2010

Children (Product Owners)
Compile a list of wishesbefore Christmas (knowing/guessingtheywon’tgeteverything)
In competitionwithotherchildren
Goal: maximum pleasurewithinrealistic budget
October 9, 2010

Elves (Quality Assurance)
Make sure the right toys are produced
Help minimizetoyrecalls and fixtures
Focus on quality and reworkimpediments
Goal: make the production process as smooth & efficient as possible
October 9, 2010

Reindeer (Deployment)
Deliver the producedtoys, oftenin record time
Very diverse deliveryenvironments, oftenheavilyconstrained (chimneys)
Major challenges: planning & efficiency
Goal: deliverwithout last-minute hickups
October 9, 2010

Parents (Management)
Need to deal with – oftencontradictory – demandsfromtheirchildren
Have limited budget
Quitestressedduringdelivery time
Goal: fair budget allocation to avoidfightingchildren
October 9, 2010

Wrap-Up: After Action Review(a simple & straightforwardretrospective)
Whatwassupposed to happen?
Whatreallyhappened?
Wasthere a difference? Why?
Whatcanwe do differentlynext time to improve the outcome?
October 9, 2010

ThankYou!
Cards: 1 pack for eachattendee(theycost about 10 US$ /pack to produce)
If youwantanother pack, youneed to:
give me at least one improvementidea for this workshop
leaveyour business card
Comments, flowers, orders for more cards: francois@alchimiste-agile.com
October 9, 2010

PS: Why « Agile Alchemists » ?
The ouroboros (dragon eatingitsowntail) is an alchemistsymbol for transformation & renewal, whichnicelysums up the retrospective. Can yousay « feedback » ? 
October 9, 2010

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The art of the retrospective

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