agile retro activities agile brazil - sept 2012
DESCRIPTION
the presentation I used in AgileBrazil 2012. On it you can find many activities for Agile retrospectives. This presentation was used my me (Paulo caroli) to remember which activity to share next.TRANSCRIPT
Agile Retrospective Activities
Paulo Caroli
agileretroactivities.blogspot.com
Paulo Caroli Agile Coach
[email protected]: @paulocaroli
Agenda
• Typical Retrospective Agenda
• Many activities
• Q & A
Typical Retrospective Agenda
• Ice breaker
• Set the context
• Prime directive
• Group participation
• Data gathering
• Data grouping
• Selecting notes to talk about
• Conversation
• Action Items
• Next steps
Opening
Middle
Closing
Zip Zap Zoom
Ping Pong
Setting the context
9/18/2012
Prime Directive
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.
Creating Safety
ESVP activity
ESVP Activity
– Explorer
• eager to learn new ideas and insights
– Shoppers
• will look over all the information and will be happy to go
how with a new idea
– Vacationer
• Are not interested in the work, but are happy to be away
from the daily grind
– Prisoner
• Fell like have been forced to attend
Well, Not so well, Puzzle
Happiness Radar
Starfish
A data gathering activity to foster the
thinking around practices and the value
the team get from it.Retrospective activities
Paulo Caroli
Activities before
• Ice breaker
• Group participation
• Context setting
16
The Starfish
• The starfish divides the board into 5 areas
18
Keep Doing
• What are the good things you like?
• Think about things you would miss if they
were removed; a particular practice,
technique, technology, person, role, etc.
• An example: Running tests locally before
committing (This prevented me from breaking
the build and delaying the branch cut).
Less Of
• What are practices that might need a bit
more refining--or reduction--in the current
circumstance?
• Think about things that do add value, but
would be better with a little less.
• An example: Stand ups have become status
meetings and so there should be less of
talking to one person (and more of talking to
each other) during them.
More Of
• What are the things that you want to try
more?
• Think about things you believe are not
necessarily taking full advantage of.
• A good example is that maybe people are pair
programming but knowledge transfer might
be gained by doing more of swapping
programming partners.
Stop Doing
• What is not adding much value?
• Think about things you believe are not useful
anymore.
• An example: Perhaps writing status reporting
email at the end of the day (because now the
team is using an awesome tool which already
conveys the current status information)
Start Doing
• What are the new things that you want to try?
• Think about new things you want to suggest.
• An example: Tracking lead time (I read an
article about it and believe would provide us
precious information regarding process
improvement)
Taking notes
• Please use one post it per note
• Consider using different post it colors for
notes:
– Team inward (things within our team boundaries)
– Team outward (things beyond our team
boundaries)
Activities to follow
• data grouping
• selecting notes to talk about
• targeted conversation based on data
• creating action itens
Up, Down, Ideas and Awards
The quadrants
• Thumbs up – things you like
• Thumbs down – things you dislike
• Award– appreciations/thank-yous
• Light bulbs – ideas/new things to try
Activities to follow
• selecting notes to talk about
• targeted conversation based on data
• creating action itens
Timeline activity
An activity for data gathering for
given period.
Building the Timeline
• Please draw a timeline on a large area (e.g.
whiteboard)
Timeline
32
timeline
Building the Timeline
• Decide the timeline start and end (e.g. 05 Jan–
Inception Start; 12 Dec – 10 days after Prod)
• Add a few noticeable events (e.g. New team
members arrival, release 1, release 2)
Timeline
34
timeline
TimelineStart Event A Event CEvent B
TimelineEnd
Building the Timeline
• Split the timeline into a areas (2 to 4
recommended), and decide upon the areas
(e.g. People, process, technology, other)
People
Process
Tool/ tech
Other
36
timeline
TimelineStart Event A Event CEvent B
TimelineEnd
Building the Timeline
• Decide upon post it colors for the notes (e.g.
Green for well, pink for not so well)
• Use another color for action items (e.g. Yellow
for action items)
Timeline activity instrctions
• Use one post it for each note
• Follow the color code
• Place the note on the area according to the
timelime (e.g. A green post it “New load
balance server” is added on the Technology
area around Release2 timeline)
• Timebox the activity (10 minutes
recommended)
Activities to follow
• data grouping
• selecting notes to talk about
• targeted reasoning based on data
Open the box
A data gathering activity which foster
innovation and challenges the current
activities performed by the team.Retrospective activities
Paulo Caroli
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ― Albert Einstein
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” ― Andy Warhol
Inside this box are all activities
performed by the team
Please open the box…
Which activities should
be removed from it?
Which activities should be added?
What to recycle?
Taking notes
• Please use one post it per note
• Use the different post it colors for notes
related to:
– process
– tools and technology
– Other
• Timing: 10 minutes or less
Next step:
validating changes
• Executing ideas is often tougher than
generating them.
• How should we test ideas quickly and cheaply,
so that we can afford to experiment?
• Please go back to your notes and add new
post –its (please use a new color) describing
how to test the idea execution.
Activities to follow
• data grouping
• voting
• selecting notes to talk about
• targeted conversation based on data
• creating action itens
9/18/2012
Smiley Calendar Average
52
Smiley Calendar Average
Please go back on time and imagine
your Smiley Calendar for each day
since last Retrospective...
Smiley Calendar Average
0
2
4
I don’t remember smiling at all
Somewhere in between…
I was always Smiling!
1
3
Smiley Calendar Average
Please add a mark next to the smiley
average line
Activities to follow
• Smiley faces data gathering
• Guided conversation on Smiley faces
9/18/2012
Smiley Calendar data gathering
Activities before
• Ice breaker
• Group participation
• Context setting
• Prime directive
• Smiley Calendar Average (mandatory)
59
Smiley Calendar Average
Now, let’s dig into our mood
variation and the reasons for it
Smiley Calendar data gathering
Even though you might not
remember every single day, please
tell us the happenings that got you
either very ☺ or very �
Smiley Calendar Data Gathering
timeline
TimelineEnds
TimelineStart
Activities to follow
• data grouping
• selecting notes to talk about
• targeted reasoning based on data
• looking for action items
9/18/2012
Guided conversations
on smiley faces
Activities before
• Ice breaker
• Group participation
• Context setting
• Prime directive
• Smiley Calendar Average (mandatory)
Smiley Calendar Average
0
2
4
I don’t remember smiling at all
Somewhere in between…
I was always Smiling!
1
3
Guided conversation
Now, let’s think about the future...
Guided conversation
� What are the things that will keep you
☺?
�What will you do different in order to
avoid a � face?
Activity instructions
• Open conversation
• Timebox the activity (10 minutes
recommended)
Activities to follow
• sharing the notes
• looking for action items
Hot air balloon
A data gathering activity which focus on
things impacting the team ability to go
fasterRetrospective activities
Paulo Caroli
Activities before
• Ice breaker
• Group participation
• Context setting
The Balloon
• The balloon represents the team cruising
along the project.
• Let’s split the board into 3 areas
Fuel
Sandbag
Bad weather
Fuel
• What is the fuel for our balloon?
• The things that will help our balloon goes
higher and faster
Sandbag and ropes
• What is slowing down our balloon?
• The things that keep us from going faster
Bad weather
• What would be the bad weather ahead?
• The things that would put our journey at risk
Fuel
Sandbag
Bad weather
Taking notes
• Please use one post it per note
• Use the different post it colors for notes
related to:
– people
– process
– tools and technology
– other
Activities to follow
• data grouping
• selecting notes to talk about
• targeted conversation based on data
• creating action itens
Plan of Action
82
• Long-term goal: Have test automation on
acceptance-test level
• Now-Action: Pete will automate one test
using Fit
83
9/18/2012
Speed Car - Abyss
retrospective exercise
85
Six Thinking Hat
Edward de Bono
Six Thinking Hats is a thinking tool
for group discussion, it provides a
means for groups to think
together more effectively, and a
means to plan thinking processes
in a detailed and cohesive way.
Red hat – Feelings & Emotions
• Focuses on feelings, hunches, gut instinct, and
intuition
White hat – Facts & Information
• Focus on data, facts, information know of
needed
Black hat – Critical Judgment
• Focuses on difficulties, potential problems.
Why something may not work.
Green hat – Alternatives and learning
• Focuses on creativity, possibilities,
alternatives, solutions, new ideas.
The 4 quadrants
(planning vs success)
activity
for lessons learned
92
Planned
and successful
Unintended,
but
successful
Planned
but
failed
failed
and
not planned
93
ROI
Agile Retrospective Activities
Questions?
Thank you!
Feedback please: @paulocaroli
agileretroactivities.blogspot.com
Paulo Caroli Agile Coach
[email protected]: @paulocaroli