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Retrospective Meeting

Retrospectives are an excellent opportunity for your agile team to evaluate itself and create a plan to address areas of improvement for the future. The retrospective embraces the ideal of continuous improvement - and protects against the pitfalls of complacency - by stepping outside the work cycle to reflect on the past:

The purpose of the retrospective meeting is to:

  • Evaluate how the last sprint, iteration, or work item went, specifically around the team dynamic, processes, and tools.
  • Articulate and stack rank the items that went well, and those items that did not.
  • Create and implement a plan for improving the way the team does work.

The retrospective provides a safe place to focus on introspection and adaptation. In order for retrospectives to be successful, there needs to be a supportive atmosphere that encourages (but doesn’t force) all team members to contribute.

Running your retrospective:

Here’s a basic template for retrospective meetings:

  1. Create a short list of things that worked well and things that could be improved. This list can be created on a whiteboard, on an Atlassian Confluence page, or maybe even sticky notes on the wall! No matter where you capture the initial feedback, be sure to memorialize it right after the meeting so it can be referenced down the road.

  2. Prioritize this list by importance as a team. You may discover common themes, which can be grouped together.

  3. Discuss ways and tactics to improve the top two items on the "room for improvement" list. Focus on outcomes, not actions or people, or the past.

  4. Create an action plan. By the end of the session, the team should have produced a few actionable ideas with clear owners and due dates to address the areas of improvement.

  5. Be disciplined about executing #4. Nothing is more frustrating than repeating the same roadblocks in every retro. Avoid stagnation (and frustration!) by making sure everyone walks away with clear next steps. Each action item identified in the retro should have a clear owner who follows it through to completion.

Owner

Agenda

  1. I liked...

  2. I wish...

  3. Decisions

Best Practice

  1. write to wiki