the art of the retrospective: how to run an awesome retrospective meeting

The Art of the Retrospective

Chris SmithProject Manager, Red Gate

@cj_smithy

Introductions

Introductions

What is a Retrospective Meeting?

“Special meeting that takes 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, analyses and identifies ways they can improve” Esther Derby

ContinuousImpro

veme

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Inspect and adapt

We will always know more

than we know here

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Retrospective

Sprint Retrospectives

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Retrospective

Retrospectives can be perfunctory

Retrospectives can be ineffective

Habitual thinkingLack of focus

Lack of participationNo end product

So… Retrospectives can be unpopular

So… Retrospectives can be unpopular

My team are literally allergic to the word ‘Retrospective’

So… Retrospectives can be unpopular

My team talk to each other and we fix things when they come up (you idiot)

So… Retrospectives can be unpopular

My team/project is special because [reason], so we don’t do retrospectives

So… Retrospectives can be unpopular

Let’s not botherOr worse

Let’s continue ticking the box

Retrospectives can be awesome

Continuously improveRespond to change

Think creativelyHappier team

I am not a hero

How do you run an effective and engaging Sprint Retrospective?

References

Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great (Derby and Larsen)

Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers (Gray, Brown and Macanufo)

How do you run an effective and engaging Sprint Retrospective?

• Prepare well• Deliberately facilitate• Keep to Retrospective Framework• Vary retrospective activities• Track actions

Be prepared

Invest time• More in = more out• 2x meeting length

Be prepared

Decide• Focus• Duration• Agenda• Plans A & B

Be prepared

Gather• Materials• Snacks• Help• People

Facilitate

Be deliberate…• Clear• Confident• Aware• Don’t contribute (too much)

Retrospective framework

• Set the stage• Gather data• Generate insights• Decide what to do• Close the

retrospective

Structuring a retrospective

Activities (or “Games”)

• Share information• Encourage

participation• Encourage

collaboration • Encourage creative

thinking• Move things forward

Set the stage

Set the stage

Agree a ‘Goldilocks’ goal

Set the stage

Agree a ‘Goldilocks’ goalAgree mind-set

Set the stage

Agree a ‘Goldilocks’ goalAgree mind-set

Hear everyone’s voice

Set the stage: Check-in

Everyone answers a question in one or two words:“How was the sprint for you?”“What is on your mind right now?”“What are your hopes for this retrospective?”

Example Activity

In one or two words…

How has Agile Cambridge 2013 been for you?

Set the stage: Other activities

• Focus On/Focus Off• Explorer, Shopper, Vacationer,

Prisoner

Gather data

Gather data

Generate shared memoryObservations not evaluations

Open up space to explore later

Gather data: Team Poll

Measure Satisfaction with Teamwork, Quality, Engineering, ???

Example Activity

Gather data: Pair Interviews

• Pose a question like “What were the high and low points of this sprint?”

• Pair-up, each person to interview the other• Not a conversation; encourage interviewees to

keep to the role• Report back

Example Activity

Gather data: Other activities

• Timeline• Short Subjects– Mad/Sad/Glad– Stop/Start/Continue

• Learning Matrix• Like to Like card game

Generate insights

Generate insights

Explore, interpret, analyse the dataLook for patterns and themes

Think creatively

Generate insights: Fishbone Diagram

Example Activity

Generate insights: Fishbone Diagram

Example Activity

Generate insights: Challenge Cards

Two Teams• Challenge Team brainstorms

potential problems

• Solution Team brainstorms features and strengths of the team

Example Activity

Generate insights: Challenge Cards

To Play:• Challenge Team plays a card, solution team

picks a card that addresses the challenge• Winner decided and points awarded• If there is no solution, team designs a new

solution card together

Example Activity

Generate insights: Challenge Cards

Example Activity

• Each person has paper divided into ~4 sections• Idea added in 1st section • Paper passed to next person who builds on idea

Generate insights: BrainwritingExample

Activity

Generate insights:Mission Impossible

• Take an existing challenge/goal and change a fundamental aspect that makes it seem impossible– “How do we remove all our technical debt… in a

day?”– “How do we add a feature… without writing code?”

• Brainstorm• Ask “Which of these ideas would be worth

actually trying?”

Example Activity

Gather data & Generate insights: Mission Impossible

Example Activity

Generate Insights: Other activities

• Five Whys• Force Field Analysis• Flip it• De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats• Anti-problem• Speedboat• Pre-Mortem

Decide what to do

Decide what to do

Move toward conclusionsFocus on improvement

Identify 2-5 actions

Decide what to do: Prioritize

Activities to prioritize:• Dot voting• £100 Test• Absolute order

Decide what to do: Create actions

Actions are return on investment

Ask:• “Can ‘we’ achieve this?”• “What does success look like?”• “What’s the first step?”• “Who is going to own this?”

Decide what to do: Create actions

Not sure exactly what to tackle?Arrange an experiment

Decide what to do: Create actions

Team seems unsure or noncommittal?Measure with ‘Five-Fingered Consensus’

Close the retrospective

Close the retrospective

Find out how the meeting wentWhat worked?What didn’t?

Close the retrospective: Feedback wall

Example Activity

Structuring a retrospective

Tracking actions

• Recorded• In your face• Reviewed• Celebrated• Disposable

How do you run an effective and engaging Sprint Retrospective?

• Prepare well• Deliberately facilitate• Keep to Retrospective Framework• Vary retrospective activities• Track actions

ReferencesAgile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great (Derby and Larsen)

Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers (Gray, Brown and Macanufo)

Agile Retrospective Resource Wiki@cj_smithy

Questions?

?@cj_smithy