The Trojan Retrospective - From Crickets to Conversations

1© SmoothApps 2014 All rights reserved. www.smoothapps.com
THE TROJAN RETROSPECTIVE
FROM CRICKETS TO CONVERSATIONS
RAVI VERMA
THE ORG WHISPERER

2© 1993-2014 Scrum.org, All Rights Reserved
About Me…
• Education:
 Bachelors in Computer Sc. & Engg.
 Masters in Entrepreneurship
• Certifications:
 PST (PSF, PSM, PSPO), PSE, PSM II, PSPO II, PSD I
 Evidence Based Management Consultant
 MBTI Certified Practitioner
 Certified in Advanced Conflict Resolution
 Certificate in Organizational Development
• Experience:
 Sr. Principal – Enterprise Agile Deployment, Sabre
 Founder & Org Whisperer – SmoothApps
 16+ years in SW Delivery, Consulting
 Siemens, HP, Avaya, Cisco, AT&T. among others
 Dev Background: C/C++, VC++, Win32 SDK, Oracle…

•Disappointed with value delivered by Agile…?
•Ineffective Retrospectives?
•A fresh approach…
The Trojan Retrospective

But First…
•The Agile Umbrella…
• http://www.agilesherpa.org/intro
_to_agile/what_is_agile_developme
nt/
•Quick overview of Scrum…

5
© SmoothApps 2014 All rights reserved. www.smoothapps.com
PO
SPRINT
BACKLOG
PRODUCT
BACKLOG
PSI
2-4 weeks
(SPRINT)
24 hrs
(DAILY
SCRUM)
SPRINT
REVIEW
SHIP
IT?
PRODUCTION
Y
ANALYSTS
OPS /
SUPPORT
PARTNERS
CUSTOMERS
SALES
COMPETITORS
SPRINT
RETRO
INSPECT / ADAPT PRODUCT BACKLOG
INSPECT / ADAPT
SPRINT PLAN,
PRODUCT, PROCESS
INSPECT / ADAPT PROCESS
Backlog
Refining /
Grooming
SPRINT
PLANNING

•The Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the
Scrum Team to inspect itself and create a plan
for improvements to be enacted during the next
Sprint...
Sprint Retrospective - Scrum Guide

•...The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to:
• Inspect how the last Sprint went with regards to people,
relationships, process, and tools;
• Identify and order the major items that went well and
potential improvements; and,
• Create a plan for implementing improvements to the way
the Scrum Team does its work.
Sprint Retrospective - Scrum Guide

•What’s been your experience…?
• Challenges…?
• Success Stories…?
Sprint Retrospective

• LACK OF ATTENDANCE - Team members not showing up to the retrospective
• LACK OF PARTICIPATION - Not hearing anything at the event besides the
sound of Crickets – team members showing up, but not sharing anything
• LACK OF TRANSPARENCY & INSPECTION – Meaningless conversations – no
transparency and no inspection. Nothing other than whining, finger-pointing
and complaints
• LACK OF ADAPTATION - Meaningful conversations – healthy transparency
and inspection but no meaningful adaptation. No follow-up actions to make
things better.
Sprint Retro – Common Challenges

•Flip charts with the questions…
• What worked well?
• What could have worked better?
• What actions will we take in the coming sprint to make it
more effective?
•I add a couple of additional questions…
• What was the most valuable knowledge we gained in this
sprint?
• What contributions would we like to acknowledge in this
sprint?
My Typical Retro…

•Assign an
owner to each
flip chart
•Lot’s of post-
it’s & markers
•Gelato!!!!
•Go…
My Typical Retro…

Additional Help…
•Alternate approach…
• Increase Agile Awareness
• Whet the appetite…
• Encourage baby steps…

•Start with some
assertions
•Request a
response…
•Roll-up &
Summarize…
Assertions

• Reflect on your most recent Agile Project
• Inspect it along the following dimensions…
• Which element was the healthiest?
• Which needed the most adaptation?
• Given a chance, what would you do different? How?
Agile Manifesto

Agile Principles – 1 to 6

Agile Principles – 7 to 12

Scrum Objectives

Scrum Values

Scrum Theory / Empiricism

Scrum Roles

Scrum Events

Scrum Artifacts

Scrum Theory

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