Agile Retrospectives

Agile Retrospectives
Stoke the engine for team improvement.
esther derby
www.estherderby.com

Agile Retrospectives are special meetings that take place at the end of a period of work--usually an iteration or software release.

In a retrospective, a team steps back, examines the way they work, analyzes, and identifies ways they can improve.

Agile Retrospectives stoke the engine of team improvement.

But too many retrospectives fail to deliver meaningful (or any) results.

Too often, retrospectives are boring, painful, a waste of time.

Why?
lack of...
focus
participation
genuine insight
buy-in
follow through

It doesn’t have to be that way.

A flexible framework to improve retrospectives.
Set the stage.
Gather data.
Generate insights.
Decide what to do.
Close the retrospective.

Set the Stage
Purpose:
establish the focus for this retrospective
share the plan for the meeting
establish or re-purpose working agreements
get every voice in the room
set other concerns aside (for now)

Gather Data
Purpose:
create a shared pool of data
ground the retrospective in facts, not opinion
consider objective and subjective experience
(the focus determines what data is relevant for a particular retrospective)

Generate Insights
Purpose:
understand systemic influences & root causes
observe patterns
move beyond habitual thinking
build shared awareness
see system effects

Decide What to Do
Purpose:
move from discussion to action
resolve on one or two actions or experiments
focus on what the team can accomplish
ask what the team has energy for, not what is “most important”

Close the Retrospective
Purpose:
reiterate actions and follow-up
appreciate contributions
identify ways to make the next retrospective better

Some people worry these steps will take too long.

But leaving out a step undermines the purpose and effectiveness of the retrospective.

Leave out...
Set the Stage and you get Brownian Motion . There’s no common focus.
Gather Data and the retro is ungrounded . Everyone will be working from his own set of facts and opinions.
Generate Insights and you’ll get habitual thinking.
Decide What to Do and really, what is the point?
Close the Retrospective and lose an opportunity to appreciate and improve.

Some (ineffective) retrospectives start in the middle, by asking the group to list what they did well, and what they should do differently.

“ What did we do well?” is a questions that asks about insights, in the absence of data.

“ What should we do differently?” is a questions that asks for a conclusion with neither data nor analysis.

So don’t skip a step, and don’t short change the retro. 1/2 hour is not enough time to get beneath the surface of most problems.

Every retrospective should be unique.

Choose a focus that reflects what’s going on for the team.

Identify what data will help the team sort through that issue.

Select activities that will enable all members of the team to participate, and think, learn, and decide together.

If you always use the same focus and activities, you’ll end up in a rut. Switch it up.

Retrospectives can’t fix everything.

Retrospectives aren’t the place for individual performance feedback.

Retrospectives aren’t the answer for inadequate technical or collaboration skills.

Retrospectives may not correct faulty mental models of software development or of how organizations work.

Some issues require feedback, coaching, training.

Retrospectives do help teams think, learn, and decide together.

Retrospectives make time for teams consider ways to re-design their work and team culture.

Retrospectives help teams improve. Over time, they help good teams become great teams. Over time, they help good teams become great teams.

To learn more:
A collection of articles and posts:
http://www.estherderby.com/category/reading/_retrospectives
For even more, click “Retrospectives” in the tag cloud.

You can read more about my thoughts on management, leadership, teams, and organizations at www.estherderby.com . You can also sign up for my newsletter there. @estherderby on Twitter @estherderby on Twitter @estherderby on Twitter @estherderby on Twitter @estherderby on Twitter

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Agile Retrospectives

by Esther Derby on Aug 15, 2010

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