How do you feel about retrospectives? Are they useful to you, or simply a waste? Should you continue attending them? How many of your team members actively participate in them and/or turn on their camera when online?
Chances are, you have a bad track record of retrospectives. It is a type of ceremony that most teams that practice Agility will introduce to their routine. Although, not everyone gets meaningful feedback and action items out of it. Let's explore the myth of this powerful tool.
The Agile methodology's beauty lies in its adaptability and its focus on continuous improvement. Retrospectives are an opportunity to reflect on the team's work and identify ways to improve future performance.
That being said, the effectiveness of retrospectives is often undermined by a lack of follow-through, leading to Retrospective Disillusionment. This article will explore the rules of people’s commitment, the vicious cycle of disillusionment, and how to leverage retrospectives as a powerful tool for change in an agile setting, as part of an iterative life cycle.
This type of ceremony has to lay down some ground rules in order to offer a platform for everyone to express their views openly, turning it into a democratic process.
It's important to note that while “the boss” can participate, it should be on an opt-in basis and not from a self-invitation to maintain the team's comfort and openness. Having a closer feedback loop with your managers can help drive change in your team. That being said, comfort and psychological safety are paramount.
The retrospective facilitator should focus on guiding the discussion and ensuring everyone's voice is heard. They should not be actively participating in the discussion.
As a facilitator, your goal is to keep the meeting (the retro) aligned with its objectives. If the discussion strays too far from the path, it would then be your responsibility to realign your team so that this shared time is productive. The end result for all retros should be to improve your team’s ability to achieve its goals while maintaining morale.
In today's world of remote working, it’s important to connect with your team even remotely. In retrospectives, applying this rule will ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate and that no one is left out.
In order for the retrospective to be efficient and to give action items, asking the right questions will help guide the discussion so that people can get creative in solution space instead of being lost in the generality of “What went right/wrong in this iteration?”.
Powerful questions are thus:
An example of a question might be: “Why did our lead time increase by 20% since the last sprint?”
How do you identify which path to take first? Following the continuous iterative process of software development can guide us in the right direction:
Setting the tone of the conversation within the retro will help invite introspection from your team members and will facilitate bringing up better suggestions.
Emotion is a great vehicle to highlight pains and wins. That said, gathering data about these situations will put emphasis on facts. It’s easier to add action items and set goals based on facts rather than emotions!
Insights are a great way to put forth ideas of possible solutions based on the aforementioned data.
Always have at least one action item set. This will bring accountability to your team and enable you to focus on continuous improvement. We will soon see how to set good objectives! 😀
Each step is essential in its own right, and skipping any of them could lead to ineffective retrospectives.
Action items tracking is important and should be done spontaneously during the next sprint. It is interesting to look at the progress at least once before the next retrospective, as this will enable you to review the solution you’ve implemented.
The continuous improvement that retrospectives promise can quickly turn into continuous disillusionment when action items are not implemented. This lack of follow-through leads to teams disengaging from the process, believing their efforts are futile.
I personally can remember an instance where six of the eight participants turned off their cameras and paid no attention to the discussions, leading to a feeling of disinterest and inefficiency. It took significantly longer to implement those changes because nobody wanted to take part. Breaking this cycle is crucial to make retrospectives meaningful and impactful. Deriving impact from the process requires all its members to devote energy to improvement.
The question that remains is: “How do you set action items that keep your team motivated then?”
The true power of retrospectives lies in the action items that come out of them. To ensure they are followed through, action items should be realistic and well-defined. SMART actions can help you formulate items in a way that is easier to understand and measure.
Additionally, consider the energy required to implement these actions along with the usual "impact and effort" measurements. This will enable your team members to focus on tasks that motivate them and help them better prioritize tasks while ensuring they are completed.
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Bad Retrospective Item |
Good Retrospective Item |
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Problem: Lack of team communication.
Action Item: Improve team communication. |
Problem: Roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined, leading to confusion and missed deadlines. Action Item: Hold a session to clarify roles by the end of the following week and assign clear tasks and responsibilities. Measure improvement by monitoring the number of missed deadlines in the following month. |
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Problem: The codebase is messy. Action Item: Clean up the codebase. |
Problem: Inefficient code structure is leading to longer development time. Action Item: Implement code refactoring for the most frequently used modules by the end of the month, and set standards for code cleanliness. Measure success with reduced development time and fewer bug reports. |
Retrospectives are more than just a meeting. These are an opportunity for teams to come together, reflect on their work and plan for the future.
The key to unlocking the power of retrospectives lies in ensuring they are meaningful and followed. With the right approach and commitment, retrospectives can become a powerful tool for the continuous improvement of Agile teams.