Retrospective is like diving into the past, but without a time machine. Imagine looking back to understand which bumps in the road there were and which gingerbread cookies were not at all sweet.
A retrospective is not the easiest event to organize, let alone introduce.
Not every experienced Scrum Master, Project manager can cope with such a task, and I remember myself and my excitement when it was time to conduct retro in the team for the first time.
In this article I will share my thoughts that helped me when planning and conducting a retrospective, and I will also give advice on preparation. I would like to note that I do not pretend to be a skilled writer and specialist in all retrospectives, I have experience and I want to believe that it can help not only me.
So, let’s begin…
Retrospective (from lat. retro “back, back” + spectare “look, contemplate”) – a look into the past, this is an activity in which the team analyzes its work over a certain period of time: a sprint, a quarter, a year. It is also important to say that a retrospective can be dedicated not only to sprints, but also to tasks, processes, summing up the year/project, or simply as an activity to bring the team together.
Where should you start preparing and what should you think about in advance?
1. Decide on a goal conducting a retrospective. What do you want to discuss with the team? For example: analyze the sprint, summarize the year? Or you want to identify the causes of problems that occurred over a certain period of time.
2. Prepare your presentation, in which you will display introductory information for retro participants: an explanation of what a retrospective is; goals; rules, agenda. This is literally a few slides, but thanks to this presentation the team will understand what awaits them. Also, it is important to convey the value of the event in order to maximize the involvement of all participants in the process. If you’re too lazy to do it, write me and I’ll send you mine)
3. It is important to decide retrospective format online or offline, as well as provide appropriate tools for a comfortable retro experience. If online, I recommend the popular Miro platform, in which you will find retrospective templates for every taste, from classic Agile retrospective templates to thematic ones (in the style of Star Trek, cartoons, travel). There are other platforms: trello, confluence, retrius. But in my opinion, Miro is the most adapted platform for this activity. By the way, you can also draw a template yourself. But this is true if there is absolutely nothing to do…
Perhaps more experienced guys can suggest other platforms. Write in the comments, I’d love to see other tools!
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Helps me a lot simulate possible options for introducing an event. Of course, you will not be able to provide for all situations and cases, BUT you will work out your introduction format. Consider introducing a retrospective in advance; problems you see, use the right questions: What did we do well? What demotivated you? What could we improve or do for a more successful outcome?
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In order for the retrospective to be successful – be friendly, try to give everyone the opportunity to express their opinion. It is important to stop any conflicts and resolve misunderstandings only through respectful conversation.
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Based on the results of the retrospective, create a document that will reflect the identified problems and dissatisfaction, positive aspects, as well as agreements. Retro results are the planhow to avoid the mistakes/problems that arose during your work.
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Another equally important action is collecting feedback: conduct a survey or simply ask colleagues in your team chat: Did you like this activity and what was missing? So let’s say for the future to develop your skills in conducting a retrospective.
Now briefly about retro optionswhich, in my opinion, can be used for the first retra:
Agile Retrospective “Good, Bad, Ugly”
The Good Bad Ugly Agile Retrospective process is quite simple. Based on three words, you ask questions that team members can provide feedback on. There are also other variations: “Good bad better best” “Start stop continue”. In general, the name speaks for itself and this format can be used in almost any case. Hold a retro and give everyone the opportunity to speak out / write on stickers, the main thing is to try to formulate the right questions:
– Good – what went well in the last sprint or in the last weeks where you had fun?
– Bad – what didn’t go so well, perhaps even badly, in the last sprint/half-year/task…? What wasn’t so fun?
– Ugly – what was ugly, unpleasant, to try to transfer it into the sphere of “beautiful”? Where can we change the trend?Retrospective “Ship”
There is a cool template in Miro, you can also find it on the Internet.
As part of this retrospective ship – this is the embodiment of your team, sailing towards its goals (you can write the name of the team on board the ship).
tropical island symbolizes our goal (this could be a sprint goal, a release goal, or more global team goals).
Wind – this is what fills our sails and helps us move forward (our strengths, advantages, resources, etc.).
Anchor – this is what slows us down and prevents us from moving towards our goal.
Underwater rocks – these are the risks that may arise on our way.
Move step by step to each of the above variations. Give participants a few minutes (don’t give too much time, I think 2-3 minutes is optimal) to write stickers for each category – island, wind, anchor, rocks.
Help the group group similar ideas and clarify unclear sticky notes. Take a vote. Give each participant 2-5 votes (depending on the number of cards) so that he can give them for the most important stickers. You can vote only for the “rock” and “anchor” issues, or you can vote for all areas, so that ideas from the “wind” become strengths for further strengthening.
Be sure to formulate an improvement plan based on the results of the generated ideas!There are similar templates in Miro that will help diversify your retrospective, for example: Midnight Sailboat (link: https://miro.com/miroverse/midnight-sailboat-retro/) and many other cool templates, moreover, they are given a short and very “understandable” description.
In my opinion, a retrospective is an event for conscious teams that are ready to analyze and inspect their work, admit mistakes to each other, without accusations or quarrels, in order to improve their work and move forward.
Don’t be too strict and demanding of yourself, try to prepare and conduct a retrospective. This is your first experience and know that everyone has been in your shoes, if you try and prepare, then everything will definitely work out!
I sincerely hope that my article helped you and you gained confidence to conduct a retrospective.
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