promptworks talk tuesdays: yvonne chen 1/24/17 "agile-retros"

Retros

At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

– 12th Agile Principle

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

– Albert Einstein?

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Why Have Retros?

Agile encourages and welcomes change.

To assume that a team never changes nor needs improvements is simply not true. By building in a ritual of process improvement, we ensure that the team will always improve.

Retros are an opportunity for the team to reflect, and also for management to hear feedback about the project’s progress and team health.

FormNorm

Why Have Retros?

StormPerform

Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckman's_stages_of_group_development

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckman's_stages_of_group_development

● Celebrate success ● Reflect on progress and

performance● Identify areas of improvement

● What went well during the sprint?● What went wrong during the

spring?● What could we do differently to

improve?

What Do Retros Reflect On?


Retros need to be a safe space for:

● Open, honest feedback● Privacy – just the team● Constructive reflection

How to Conduct a Retro

The Prime DirectiveRegardless 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.


Who Attends

Just the team.

In scrum: this means the PO, Scrum Master, and The Team.

This also means no managers!

Usually the retro is run by the Scrum Master. However, the retro can be facilitated by anyone, sometimes even guests to keep it fresh.


By and large, retros look back at the sprint just completed.

Only items inside the team’s control are addressed.

From there, it’s wide open:

● Team processes● User stories and requirements● DevOps tweaks● Bugs and code smells

What’s Discussed


Process

Discuss what’s working and not working for the team.

For newer teams, feedback can be anonymous. Keep it specific.

Discuss all feedback.

Identify potential action items.

Prioritize the most important items to work on in the next sprint.


When and Why Retros Fail

● Failure to review past retro commitments.○ #1 killer of retros, when they become “stale.”

● Failure to prioritize actions and taking on too much.● Retros turn into the blame game.

○ Don’t suppress team feelings, but don’t let a negative attitude take over your retro, either.

○ Suggestions, not complaints.● External stakeholders attend – everyone, even teams, needs a little privacy.


But They’re Not Only For Sprints

You can have a retro after a release, too. (We call it a post-mortem.)

● Thank the team. ● Examine lessons learned from the entire release – a bigger scope of

reflection yields different process improvements.● Celebrate success!


Some Tips for Facilitators

● “What else?” instead of “Anything else?”● No screens, please.● Make retros fun, especially for teams new to each other (snacks, donuts,

games.)● Remember the introverts or shy folks (but don’t call them out.)● Remember who’s who: Energizers and Check-ins.● Timebox your retro, and respect the team’s time.● Focus on the team’s health.● Read the room and change things up when you need to.

● “The Classic”● 5 Why’s Root Analysis● Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA)● The Story of a Story● Timelines: by feelings, by data, by peaks and valleys● And more exercises to deploy judiciously, like:

○ Safety Check○ Happiness Radar○ Other techniques

A Facilitator’s Toolbox i.e., Keep It Fresh

ret·ro·spec·tiveFrom the Latin retrospectare, “to look back”

Any Questions?

promptworks talk tuesdays: yvonne chen 1/24/17 "agile-retros"

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