The Retrospective is held at the end of each sprint in order to evaluate the previous sprint and discuss what worked well and what areas the team could improve upon. The team should identify one or two areas to work on in the next sprint.
Ask a brief check-in question to get everyone talking at the beginning. When attendees don’t speak at the very beginning of the retrospective, they are less likely to participate throughout the meeting.
ScrumMaster reviews action items from current sprint and has Team evaluate their progress on them
ScrumMaster leads Team through exercise to gather data from the events of the last sprint
What worked well?
What needs improvement?
ScrumMaster and Team generate insights based on the data gathered
What are possible solutions for identified improvements needed that the team might try?
Team decides what actions to take
Vote on 1-2 improvements that will have biggest impact
Brainstorm how to implement these improvements
ScrumMaster closes the retrospective
Document action items and make a plan for following up
ScrumMaster Responsibilities
Facilitate and participate in the meeting. (This can be a challenge; ScrumMaster should share their input, but should not dominate the conversation.)
Document action items and post so Team is aware of them
Distribute notes from retrospective to members of the Team
Product Owner Responsibilities
Attend and participate
Delivery Team Responsibilities
Attend and participate
Commit to working on/addressing the action items in the next sprint
Guidelines
Meeting is held on last day of sprint and is scheduled for 90 minutes for a two-week sprint
To reduce the blame game, it’s good to start with a reminder of the Agile Prime Directive: “Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.”
Try different activities and exercises each time to keep the meeting fresh
Managers and stakeholders should not attend, but can be informed of the learnings and action items afterwards
Anti-patterns
These are patterns or behaviors that lead to inefficient or ineffective meetings. They should be addressed whenever found.
ScrumMaster is making all the suggestions for action items
Conversation during the retrospective does not involve all team members
The information provided in this content is meant for general informational purposes only and should not be regarded as professional guidance for specific business scenarios. Results may differ depending on your organization’s circumstances. It is recommended to consult with a qualified industry expert before acting on this information.The coaches at Agile Velocity are available to address any inquiries you may have.
