Facilitating Retros – As Easy as it is……

Deepak Gururaja

Sr. Agile Consultant@ SolutionsIQ

Lets start with an activity

– At your table, there is a sheet, with a problem statement written on the top, with 2 boxes below it

– Discuss among the table, and write down the following

– In the first box write down why is this a problem OR the context under which this is a problem

– In the first box, also write what behaviour has led to this problem

– In the second box, write down how could this behaviour be influenced

– Time box - 10 Minutes

– After 10 minutes, we take turns and share our understanding

Time starts now……

5 Simple Rules for an effective retrospective

Rule One – Don’t forget the 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.

People + Product + Process = Success

People

Product

Process

ReviewRetrospective

Rule 2 – The Law of Inclusion

– Make sure that the entire team actively participates in the Retrospective

– The one who is silent during a retrospective, is also making a point

– Keep all team members engaged

– One easy way to hold people accountable – give them something to talk about

– How do you do that – Assign action items, hold them responsible

Remember – The retrospective is effective only when all the team members own the retrospective

Rule 3 - Do not lose the power of facilitation– All of us are as humans as we are – Teams can get into the grip of negativity

– Usually happens when the team is new, or team is influenced by a lot of negativity

– As a facilitator, do not let scepticism/cross talk/negative talk take away the energy

– Stay calm and ask “What can WE do about the situation in hand”

– Facilitate Retrospectives within a structure and a context

– Having a definitive structure changes the way people think

Rule 4 – Revisit History

– As change agents, we need to build people’s conviction in Retrospectives

– How does that get built

– Always revisit the Action items discussed in the last Retrospectives and validate if the improvement was really caused

– This is a very simple, yet effective tool to reinforce faith of people on Retrospectives

That’s it…..

Those were the 5 Rules for an effective Retrospective

Rule 5 – Surprise !!!