workshop exercises to spice up your agile retrospective agile cambridge 2017 - ben linders

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Ben Linders Consulting

Exercises to spice up your agile retrospective

Agile CambridgeSeptember 28, 2017




What you will learn

• Why and how of agile retrospectives• Try out different retrospective exercises• Create a safe environment to run a retrospective• Practice skills for facilitating retrospectives



Warm-up Exercise• Roles:

– Time keeper– Scribe

• 1 min to brainstorm individualy– One word: how you feel retrospective are going in your org/team– One word: the main missing ingredient in your retrospectives

• 1 min for each paper– Write down both words on flip chart– Explain the words – discuss briefly



Trainer / Coach / Adviser / Author / SpeakerAgile, Lean, Quality & Continuous improvement Freelance Editor for InfoQ.com

Ben Linders

Books: Getting Value out of Agile RetrospectivesWhat Drives Quality Continuous Improvement

Games: Agile Self-assessment Game

http://www.benlinders.com/services/

http://www.infoq.com/author/Ben-Linders

http://www.benlinders.com/getting-value-out-of-agile-retrospectives/

https://www.benlinders.com/what-drives-quality/

https://leanpub.com/continuousimprovement

https://www.benlinders.com/game/

https://www.benlinders.com/getting-value-out-of-agile-retrospectives/

https://www.benlinders.com/what-drives-quality/


https://www.benlinders.com/game/



Purpose of Retrospectives

• Self-organizing teams are responsible for their own WoW

• No “first time right”, adjustalong the way

• Ok to fail, if you learn from it

• Continuous improvement

Sustainable Improvement through Agile Retrospectives

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/sustainable-improvement-through-agile-retrospectives/



Safety in RetrospectivesOpen Culture where team members

Speak Up with Respect for each other to Learn and Improve

Assure that people know whyretrospectives are done, and have a mindset to improve Soft Skills Matter

• Prime Directive• Safety Check and Warm-up exercises• Explorer, Shopper, Vacationer, and Prisoner

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/do-soft-skills-really-matter-in-it/

https://www.benlinders.com/2015/retrospective-prime-directive-translations/

http://www.benlinders.com/2016/what-to-do-when-safety-is-low-in-a-retrospective/

https://www.benlinders.com/2016/warm-up-exercises-for-agile-retrospectives/



State of Practice RetrospectivesFirst annual Agile Retrospectives Report:

“deeper understanding of how retrospectives are used

in the real world - how good we are at retrospecting”

https://www.benlinders.com/2017/state-of-practice-in-agile-retrospectives/



https://www.benlinders.com/2017/state-of-practice-in-agile-retrospectives/



Toolbox of Retrospective Exercises

• Teams differ• Needs vary• More value

You can plan a retrospective meeting, and think about the exercise you want to use, but be open to change it on the spot whenever needed.

Toolbox of Retrospective Techniques

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/have-a-toolbox-of-retrospective-techniques/



Exercise: Valuable Retrospectives

Possible Exercises:• Car Brand• 3S (Stop, Start, Spice up)• Perfection Game• One Word• Faces Jack Sparrow• Backpacking• Constellation• Sail boat futurespective

• Bring your own…



https://www.benlinders.com/2017/3s-retrospective-exercise-start-spice-up-stop/

https://www.benlinders.com/2014/getting-feedback-with-the-perfection-game/

https://www.benlinders.com/2013/feelings-matter-in-agile-retrospectives/

https://www.benlinders.com/2016/guest-blog-many-faces-jack-sparrow-agile-retrospective-exercise/

https://www.benlinders.com/2017/agile-journey-backpacking-retrospective-exercise/


https://www.benlinders.com/2017/sail-boat-futurespective/



Retrospective ExercisesPractice retrospectives:• 5 min: divide roles: Facilitator, team, observer(s)

read exercise & prepare• 30 min: do the retrospective • 10 min: evaluate exercise • 20 min: share learnings

Evaluate• How did it go?• What did you learn?



Effective RetrospectivesKnow the whyGood facilitationEffective exercisesFrequent, small stepsVital few actions

https://www.benlinders.com/2013/whats-an-agile-retrospective-and-why-would-you-do-it/

https://www.benlinders.com/2016/7-retrospective-facilitation-good-practices/

http://www.benlinders.com/exercises/

https://www.benlinders.com/2013/short-cycled-improvement-observe-and-change/

http://www.benlinders.com/2014/retrospective-exercise-vital-few-actions/



Inspiration for RetrospectivesRetrospective Exercises:• amazon.com/dp/B00SWJO1DI• benlinders.com/exercises/• benlinders.com/ask-your-agile-retrospective-question/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SWJO1DI


https://www.benlinders.com/ask-your-agile-retrospective-question/





Retrospectives BookGetting Value out of Agile RetrospectivesBy Luis Gonçalves & Ben Linders

amazon.com/dp/B00SWJO1DI

Special Agile Cambridge: Spice up Agile Retrospectives – with a Discount!

• 25% off with coupon “agilecam” at benlinders.com/shop/gettingvalueoutofagileretrospectives/

• 25% off on Leanpub at leanpub.com/gettingvalueoutofagileretrospectives/c/agilecam



https://www.benlinders.com/shop/gettingvalueoutofagileretrospectives/

https://leanpub.com/gettingvalueoutofagileretrospectives/c/agilecam



Wrap up

What did you learn today:Why and how of agile retrospectivesTry out different retrospective exercisesCreate a safe environment to run a retrospectivePractice skills for facilitating retrospectives

Questions?



Thank you!Thank you!

Ben LindersIndependent Consultant Agile, Lean,Quality & Continuous Improvement

[email protected]@BenLinders.com @BenLinders www.linkedin.com/in/benlinderswww.linkedin.com/in/benlinders www.facebook.com/BenLindersAdvieswww.facebook.com/BenLindersAdvies www.benlinders.comwww.benlinders.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/benlinders

http://www.facebook.com/BenLindersAdvies

http://www.benlinders.com/



Background Information



Designing your Retrospective

amazon.com/dp/B00SWJO1DI benlinders.com/exercises/





Facilitating RetrospectivesFacilitators• Plan the retrospective• Select appropriate exercises• Chair the meeting• Ensure action is taken

Making retrospectives effective• Open & honest culture• Focus on the process• Remain independent Facilitation Good Practices

https://www.benlinders.com/2016/independent-facilitator-agile-retrospectives/





Vital Few Actions• Small Actions • Frequent Change• Focus on Value• Stop Starting,

Start Stopping• Kanban

Short Cycled Improvement

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/short-cycled-improvement-observe-and-change/



What Drives QualityDeep Dive into Software Quality with PracticalSolutions for Delivering High Quality Products

for software developers and testers, architects,Product Owners, agile coaches, Scrum masters,project managers, and operational and seniormanagers who consider quality to be important

Release date: September 30, 2017

Available on Amazon, leanpub, BenLinders

https://www.amazon.com/What-Drives-Quality-Practical-Delivering-ebook/dp/B075CPJVLN

https://leanpub.com/WhatDrivesQuality

https://www.benlinders.com/shop/drives-quality-ebook/



Continuous Improvement

Become aware of importance of continuous improvement,

Explore how it’s engrained in agile software development

Suggestions that you can use in your daily work to improve continuously

Increase your organization's agility!

Leanpub.com/continuousimprovement

“Continuous Improvement is the act of continuously doing whatever helps to become better and thus more valuable”





Retrospectives Book BundleSix successful retrospectives books• Getting Value out of Agile Retrospectives• Fun Retrospectives• Fifty Quick Ideas to Improve Your Retrospectives• The Retrospective Handbook• Retrospectives for Organizational Change• The Retrospectives Kickstarter

These books will make your agile retrospectives rock!Teams will love to do them :-).

leanpub.com/b/agileretrospectivesDiscounted price: $30,48 (excl. VAT)

https://leanpub.com/gettingvalueoutofagileretrospectives

https://leanpub.com/funretrospectives

https://leanpub.com/50quickretrospectives

https://leanpub.com/the-retrospective-handbook

https://leanpub.com/retrospectivesfororganizationalchange

https://leanpub.com/agile-retrospective-kickstarter

https://leanpub.com/b/agileretrospectives



Getting More out of Agile & Lean Practices for teams and stakeholders to develop the right

products, deliver faster, increase quality, and create happy high performing teams.

Full Day Workshop:Deploying practices effectively Improve CollaborationTips & Trick for Agile & Lean Improve Continuously

Increase your organization's agility!

BenLinders.com/agilelean

http://www.benlinders.com/workshop-getting-more-out-of-agile-and-lean/

http://www.benlinders.com/workshop-getting-more-out-of-agile-and-lean/



Assessing your AgilityOver 50 tools:• Self-Assessment checklists• Readyness checks• Maturity assessments• Agile health checks• Measurements• And much more! Agile Self-Assessments

http://www.benlinders.com/tools/agile-self-assessments/



Retrospective Exercises• Asking questions• One-word retrospective• Root Cause Analysis• Timeline• Flow and Energy• Asking Why?• Strenghts (Solution Focused)• Perfection game• Action priorities• Retrospective of Retrospectives• Teams with multiple customers• Remote Teams• Futurespectives• Strengths/Core Qualities

Book with Agile Retrospective Exercises

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/which-questions-do-you-ask-in-retrospectives/

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/feelings-matter-in-agile-retrospectives/

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/getting-to-the-root-causes-of-problems-in-a-retrospective/

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/asking-why/

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/using-solution-focused-in-a-strengths-based-retrospective/

http://www.benlinders.com/2014/getting-feedback-with-the-perfection-game/

http://www.benlinders.com/2014/retrospective-exercise-vital-few-actions/

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/improving-collaboration-in-agile-projects-with-the-retrospective-of-retrospectives/

http://www.benlinders.com/2014/retrospectives-for-teams-with-multiple-customers/

http://www.benlinders.com/2014/retrospectives-in-remote-teams/

http://www.benlinders.com/2015/how-futurespectives-help-teams-to-reach-their-goals/

http://www.benlinders.com/2015/exploring-strengths-with-core-qualities/




Articles on Effective Agile• Self-assessing how Agile you are• Sustainable Improvement through Agile Retrospectives• Working in a Sustainable Pace• Becoming Agile and Lean • Succes Factors for Using Scrum and Getting Benefits• Process Improvement: The Agile Way• Golden Rules for Agile Process Improvement• How to deal with Resistance when Implementing Agile• Managing Projects with Agile Teams• Agile Project Management• Establishing and Maintaining Stable Teams• Getting Business Value out of Agile Retrospectives• Sharing Knowledge is Power• Are your Professionals Empowered?

http://www.benlinders.com/2014/self-assessing-how-agile-you-are/

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/sustainable-improvement-through-agile-retrospectives/

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/working-in-a-sustainable-pace/

http://www.benlinders.com/2012/becoming-agile-and-lean/

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/success-factors-for-using-scrum-and-getting-benefits/

http://www.methodsandtools.com/archive/archive.php?id=115

http://www.benlinders.com/2011/golden-rules-for-agile-process-improvement/

http://www.benlinders.com/2013/how-to-deal-with-resistance-when-implementing-agile/

http://www.benlinders.com/2012/managing-projects-with-agile-teams/

http://www.benlinders.com/2011/agile-project-management/

http://www.benlinders.com/2011/establishing-and-maintaining-stable-teams/

http://www.benlinders.com/2011/getting-business-value-out-of-agile-retrospectives/

http://www.benlinders.com/2011/sharing-knowledge-is-power/

http://www.benlinders.com/2011/are-your-professionals-empowered/

workshop exercises to spice up your agile retrospective agile cambridge 2017 - ben linders

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