Comments on: Eight tips for better retrospectives http://properosolutions.com/2009/08/eight-tips-for-better-retrospectives/ Helping organizations succeed with agile software development Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:29:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: David Bland http://properosolutions.com/2009/08/eight-tips-for-better-retrospectives/comment-page-1/#comment-98 David Bland Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:55:13 +0000 http://accelerateagile.com/2009/08/eight-tips-for-better-retrospectives/#comment-98 I've had success using Jean Tabaka's suggestions in regards to Wind / Anchor metaphors instead of Pros / Cons or Plus / Minus.<br /><br />Also the "thank a team member" segment at the end has been a huge hit. People get too bogged down in day to day tasks and forget to recognize those who've helped them succeed.<br /><br />It's a good way to wrap up the Lessons Learned with a positive vibe. I've had success using Jean Tabaka's suggestions in regards to Wind / Anchor metaphors instead of Pros / Cons or Plus / Minus.

Also the "thank a team member" segment at the end has been a huge hit. People get too bogged down in day to day tasks and forget to recognize those who've helped them succeed.

It's a good way to wrap up the Lessons Learned with a positive vibe.

]]> By: Diana Larsen http://properosolutions.com/2009/08/eight-tips-for-better-retrospectives/comment-page-1/#comment-97 Diana Larsen Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:34:13 +0000 http://accelerateagile.com/2009/08/eight-tips-for-better-retrospectives/#comment-97 I'm glad to see that you're tracking retrospective actions from one session to the next. OTOH beware separating the product backlog and "improvement" backlog. In my experience, teams focus on one or the other but not both. Which means the improvement backlog frequently gets ignored. I advise teams to write their action items on a task card and include it in the next Sprint/iteration planning. So, it's all part of the same backlog and gets considered with all the other work. <br /><br />I've also had good luck with asking groups to consider where could they really make a beneficial difference by addressing an issue (whether "fixing" a problem, stabilizing a success, or grasping an opportunity) and what they have the energy to tackle, rather than asking "what's important?" Both Esther Derby (Feb 9, 2007 blog post) and I ( http://tinyurl.com/6pbumq ) have written about this effect. <br /><br />Keep up the good retrospective work! <br /><br />Diana Larsen I'm glad to see that you're tracking retrospective actions from one session to the next. OTOH beware separating the product backlog and "improvement" backlog. In my experience, teams focus on one or the other but not both. Which means the improvement backlog frequently gets ignored. I advise teams to write their action items on a task card and include it in the next Sprint/iteration planning. So, it's all part of the same backlog and gets considered with all the other work.

I've also had good luck with asking groups to consider where could they really make a beneficial difference by addressing an issue (whether "fixing" a problem, stabilizing a success, or grasping an opportunity) and what they have the energy to tackle, rather than asking "what's important?" Both Esther Derby (Feb 9, 2007 blog post) and I ( http://tinyurl.com/6pbumq ) have written about this effect.

Keep up the good retrospective work!

Diana Larsen

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