Retrospectives

Retrospectives are meetings where a team reflects on how members work together and considers ways to improve their process. They are typically practiced on agile teams, but any team can reap the benefits of an hour spent reflecting on previous work.

This session will give you everything you need to start incorporating these meetings into your existing process or to finesse the existing retrospective meetings you currently have, including:

How to facilitate a retrospective
How to create an action plan and stick to it
Variations of retrospectives and when to use each
Incorporating retrospectives into an existing non-agile process
Troubleshooting unproductive and hostile retrospectives

Learn how to incorporate and improve retrospectives, promote stronger communication, and increase trust among your team members.

Transcript

1. NOT JUST FOR AGILE TEAMS
   RETROSPECTIVES
   Rachel Krause
   @rachelkrau
   Slides: speakerdeck.com/rachelkrau/retrospectives
   

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4. @rachelkrau 4
   Hey, I’m
   Rachel.
   UX Specialist, 

   Nielsen Norman Group
   - Content creation (articles, videos,
   classes/workshops, etc.)
   - Teach full-day workshops for 

   UX conferences and clients
   - Conduct UX research
   - Consulting with clients
   Scrum.org Certified
   - Professional Scrum Master
   - Professional Scrum with User Experience
   

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5. I’ve been in a
   LOT of retros.
   

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6. @rachelkrau
   Applications
   The many ways you
   can use retrospectives
   to work for yourself
   and your teams
   Variations
   Finding a method that
   works best for your
   situation and how to
   facilitate
   Agenda
   6
   1
   The Basics
   Why retrospectives
   are valuable and the
   importance of having
   an action plan
   2 3 4
   Troubleshooting
   Tips for getting the
   most out of your
   retrospectives and
   identifying issues
   

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7. @rachelkrau
   The Basics
   7
   

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8. @rachelkrau 8
   What is

   a retro?
   A regular meeting where a 

   team reflects on the previous
   increment of work.
   - What went well
   - What can be improved
   - Create an action plan for the future
   The Basics
   

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9. @rachelkrau 9
   Neat.

   But why?
   Successes show us what we
   want to keep doing.
   Failures identify opportunities 

   for us to improve our process 

   as a team.
   The Basics
   

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10. @rachelkrau
    Failure.
    10
    

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11. @rachelkrau
    FAILURE!
    11
    ☠
    

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12. @rachelkrau 12
    Who to

    invite?
    Everyone who contributed 

    to the team:
    - Fully dedicated to the project
    - Partially dedicated to the project 

    (ex: separate design team)
    The Basics
    

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13. @rachelkrau 13
    Words ≠

    actions.
    Your action plan is the most
    important takeaway from the
    retrospective.
    - What do we need to do to improve our
    process the next time?
    Words are just words without 

    an action plan.
    The Basics
    

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14. @rachelkrau 14
    Follow 

    the rules.
    1. Set expectations.
    2. Focus on continuous
    improvement.
    3. Don’t play the blame game.
    4. Keep an open mind.
    The Basics
    

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15. @rachelkrau
    Variations
    15
    

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16. @rachelkrau 16
    Variety

    is key.
    Most varieties of retros follow
    the same format, but guide the
    conversation differently.
    - What went well
    - What didn't go so well
    Keep things interesting!
    Variations
    

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17. @rachelkrau 17
    Get it

    together.
    Get everyone in a room together.
    - Post-its
    - Whiteboard
    - Projector
    - Discourage laptop usage
    Don’t skip these just because
    your team has remote members.
    - Stickies.io, Trello, Confluence, Miro,
    MURAL, Google Slides
    - Turn your camera on
    Variations
    

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18. @rachelkrau 18
    The 4 Ls
    What did you LIKE?
    What was LACKING?
    What did you LEARN?
    What do you LONG FOR 

    going forward?
    Variations
    

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19. @rachelkrau
    The 4 Ls
    19
    Variations
    

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20. @rachelkrau 20
    When 

    to Use

    ‘The 4 Ls’
    When you’re starting a new
    process or experiment.
    - Design Thinking or other new-to-you
    framework
    When you’re iterating on an
    existing technique.
    When you’re evaluating the
    success of an entire project.
    Variations
    

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21. @rachelkrau 21
    Sailboat What propels us forward?
    What slows us down?
    What risks are coming up?
    Variations
    

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22. @rachelkrau
    Sailboat
    22
    Variations
    

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23. @rachelkrau
    Breaking Bad Edition
    23
    Variations
    

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24. @rachelkrau 24
    When 

    to Use

    ‘Sailboat’
    To guide conversations amongst
    development teams.
    When you’re working with a new
    client or stakeholder.
    When you want to challenge your
    team to be creative.
    Variations
    

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25. @rachelkrau 25
    SWOT
    Strengths
    Weaknesses
    Opportunities
    Threats
    Variations
    

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26. @rachelkrau
    SWOT
    26
    Variations
    

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27. @rachelkrau
    SWOT
    27
    Variations
    

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28. @rachelkrau 28
    When 

    to Use

    ‘SWOT’
    When you’re evaluating a new
    process in your organization.
    When you’re revisiting content in
    a course or training.
    When you’re evaluating yourself
    and your career goals.
    Variations
    

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29. @rachelkrau 29
    Freeform Literally sitting around a table
    talking to each other.
    Variations
    

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30. @rachelkrau
    Freeform
    30
    Variations
    

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31. @rachelkrau 31
    When 

    to Use

    ‘Freeform’
    When you have an established
    team that communicates well.
    When you have a proven track
    record of accomplishing your
    action plans.
    Variations
    

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32. Regardless of
    method, track and
    revisit action plans.
    Variations
    

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33. @rachelkrau 33
    Variations
    

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34. @rachelkrau
    Applications
    34
    

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35. @rachelkrau 35
    Agile 

    Teams
    Facilitate a retro at the end of
    every sprint — no exceptions!
    Aim for 30-90 minutes,
    depending on the health of 

    the team.
    Pitch a one-sprint experiment if
    you want to try a new technique.
    Variations
    

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36. @rachelkrau 36
    Design 

    Teams
    Evaluate team communication,
    consistency, design tools, and
    processes.
    Choose your cadence: monthly
    or quarterly.
    Variations
    

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37. @rachelkrau 37
    Leadership
    Teams
    Discuss company
    initiatives and goals, hiring
    practices, and offerings.
    Switch up the variation
    depending on the topic.
    Aim for quarterly retros to
    check progress and yearly
    retros to set new initiatives.
    Variations
    

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38. @rachelkrau 38
    Yourself!
    Variations
    

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39. @rachelkrau
    1.5 Years Ago
    39
    Variations
    

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40. @rachelkrau 40
    Variations
    

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41. @rachelkrau 41
    Variations
    

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42. @rachelkrau 42
    Pause & 

    reflect.
    Recognize your achievements
    and how far you’ve come.
    Give yourself a practical action
    plan for your goals:
    - Career change
    - Learn a new skill
    - Become a better person
    Variations
    

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43. @rachelkrau
    Troubleshooting
    43
    

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44. @rachelkrau 44
    Spend 5

    minutes

    on kudos.
    The bulk of your retro should
    focus on the accomplishments
    of the team as a whole.
    Acknowledge individuals as
    part of “kudos” in the beginning
    of the meeting to encourage
    comfort and participation.
    Troubleshooting
    

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45. @rachelkrau 45
    Switch

    up the

    facilitator.
    Passing the facilitator role
    will help teams stay engaged
    over time.
    Everyone can be involved at
    some point in the meeting.
    Troubleshooting
    

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46. @rachelkrau 46
    Look

    around.
    If your team is meeting regularly
    and no issues arise, your team
    does not feel comfortable
    bringing them up.
    - Is there a superior monitoring issues that
    are brought up?
    - Is failure a concept that your company is
    afraid of?
    Make your retrospective meeting
    a safe space.
    Every team will have areas for
    improvement. Embrace it.
    Troubleshooting
    

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47. @rachelkrau 47
    Track 

    patterns.
    Revisit your action plan during
    your increment and at your next
    retrospective.
    - Bring up action items during standups or
    regular check-ins
    - Items that have not been completed are
    added to your next action plan
    - Designate a new owner if needed
    Acknowledge how far you’ve
    come as a team.
    Troubleshooting
    

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48. @rachelkrau 48
    Get 

    meta.
    Evaluate if your retros are
    productive for your team:
    - Are they helping make projects better?
    Are you actually seeing
    improvements, or are you playing
    a game of whack-a-mole?
    - Are you solving problems or just treating
    the symptoms?
    Troubleshooting
    

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49. @rachelkrau 49
    It won’t

    be perfect

    right away.
    Teams take time to mature
    and trust each other.
    If you’re seeing forward
    progress, your retros are
    successful.
    If you’re not, switch up your
    methods.
    Troubleshooting
    

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50. @rachelkrau
    Bottom Line
    50
    

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51. Retros 

    build trust.
    

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52. Retros 

    help you learn
    and grow.
    

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53. Retros 

    are for
    everyone.
    

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54. @rachelkrau 54
    Thank 

    you!
    Keep in touch!
    - @rachelkrau
    - hello@rachelkrau.com
    - nngroup.com/people/rachel-krause
    More about retros:
    - https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-
    retrospectives/
    - https://www.nngroup.com/videos/retrospectives/
    - https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/
    retrospective
    

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