Agile Retrospectives

Twitter: #agile101 @agilenewbies

Agenda

• Introductions• Agile Retrospectives• Group Exercise • Wrap up • Q&A

Introductions

“…special meetings that take place at the end of a period of work—usually an iteration or software release” – Esther Derby

Agile Retrospectives?

Why Agile Retrospectives?

Makes Good teams Great!

Inspect and adapt

We will always know more

than we know here

RetrospectiveRetrospective

RetrospectiveRetrospective

Retrospective

How do Retrospectives work?

How do you run an effective and engaging Agile Retrospective?

• Prepare well• Deliberately facilitate• Use Retrospective

framework• Vary retrospective

activities• Track actions

Facilitate

Be deliberate…• Clear• Confident• Aware• Don’t contribute

(too much)

Anatomy of a Retrospective

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

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

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

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• 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?”

Close the retrospective

Close the retrospective

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

Close the retrospective: Feedback wall

Example Activity

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

Group Exercise

Awesome Retrospectives

Continuously improveRespond to change

Think creativelyHappier team

Poor Retrospectives

Habitual thinkingLack of focus

Lack of participationNo actionable outcomes

My team are literally allergic to the word ‘Retrospective’

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

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

Summary

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

Questions?

References

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

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

Credits

The Art of Retrospectives - http://www.slideshare.net/chris_smith1976/the-art-of-the-retrospective/5

Agile Retrospectives - http://www.slideshare.net/estherderby/agile-retrospectives-4976896