Retrospectives are like the chocolate chips in a cookie - they're essential! At the very least, retrospectives are an important part of the agile process because they allow the team to reflect on their past iterations and identify areas for improvement.
Think about it this way: if you're baking a cookie and you forget to add the chocolate chips (or macadamia nuts), it's going to be pretty flavourless. The same is true for agile teams - if you forget to reflect on what's been working and what hasn't, your process is going to be bland.
Retrospectives also help teams to build trust and foster a culture of continuous improvement. They provide an opportunity for team members to speak openly and honestly about their experiences, which can help to identify and resolve any issues that may be hindering the team's progress.
So, in short, retrospectives are important because they help teams to identify and resolve issues, build trust, and continuously improve their process. Plus, they're a tasty treat.
Surprising American origins of Kaizen
Retrospectives are based around the concept of Kaizen, which refers to the practice of continuous improvement, originated in Japan after World War II. However, the origins of Kaizen can actually be traced back to the United States.
During the occupation of Japan following World War II, a team of American experts, known as the "Toyota Team," was sent to Japan to help rebuild the country's industries. The team included engineers, managers, and experts in a variety of fields, and their goal was to help rebuild Japan's economy by modernising its industries.
One of the members of the Toyota Team was William Edwards Deming, an American statistician and management consultant who is known for his contributions to the development of the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM). Deming introduced the Japanese to TQM, which emphasises the importance of continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.
Deming's ideas about TQM were embraced by Japanese companies, and over time, they developed their own approach to continuous improvement, known as Kaizen. The term Kaizen is a combination of the Japanese words "kai," which means "change," and "zen," which means "good."
So, while the concept of Kaizen originated in Japan, it was actually influenced by American ideas about continuous improvement and TQM.
Basics of running a retrospective
Skip to the next session if you already know how to run a retro.
Stage 0: Attendees. Only invite the team who do the work to the retrospective - not their bosses. This helps people feel comfortable to give their full feedback without fear of negative repercussions. If the whole team agrees then a summary retrospective output can be shared.
Stage 1: Review. Ask if the main action committed to from the previous retrospective was done. If not, find out why and make a plan to address.
Stage 2: Capture. The team fills out each of the sections of the retrospective using post-its (eg liked / lacked / learned / loved). The facilitator can choose to capture section by section or everything at once. It’s good to mix it up.
Stage 3: Group. If there are similar topics, the team or facilitator can group them together to make it easier to see.
Stage 4: Prioritise (optional). If there are way too many feedback items to discuss in the available time then the facilitator may choose to prioritise the most important ones. This is done by dot-voting to find the most pressing issues.
Stage 5: Discuss and action. The facilitator will choose a maximum time to discuss each topic (say 5 minutes) and may set a timer so that all of the most important issues get their airtime. The facilitator makes notes of actions as they come up in conversation.
Stage 6: Commit. The team agrees on the most important action to happen before the next retrospective and who will do it.
This all sounds ok right? So far it’s like a cookie you get in a packet from the supermarket. It’s quite good, particularly when dunked in a cup of tea. But really you want a freshly backed cookie.
The home baked cookie retrospective
Include these five ingredients in your retrospective for deliciousness.
Check-in
This is a 5 minute energising exercise at the start of the retrospective. It helps the facilitator gauge the mood of the team, the team get to know one another better and is often a great laugh. This post has some handy check-in examples and tools to use.
Variety
It’s important to change the structure of the retro each time it happens. Miro, Butter, Metroretro, Mural and Figjam all have loads of templates for inspiration. You can set up the physical equivalent of these for in-real-life retros.
Contribution from everyone in the team
If a team is well established and they know one another then it’s likely everyone will contribute. If there are new or quiet people in the team then it’s important for them to share their feedback and it’s the role of the facilitator to help this happen.
Kudos
This is a massive value-add for retros and most templates don’t include it. What happens here is that people in the team give a shout-out to someone else who went out of their way to help them since the last retrospective. It's an opportunity to share and appreciate what the individuals did for one another, results in plenty of feel-good-fuzziness and builds morale.
A single do-able action with an owner
As the retrospective progresses, the facilitator is likely adding actions to the list to be reviewed at the end. If there are too many actions committed to (or none) then the value of the retro drops massively. An easy way to pick a single action from a list is to do a forced ranking, where the most important thing to do is top and the least important at the bottom. Someone should agree to be responsible for doing the top action.
Hope that was useful! I’d love to hear your thoughts about retros and find more ways to make them better.
Cheers
Iain