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
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
5. I’ve been in a LOT of retros.
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
7. @rachelkrau The Basics 7
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
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
10. @rachelkrau Failure. 10
11. @rachelkrau FAILURE! 11 ☠
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
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
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
15. @rachelkrau Variations 15
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
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
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
19. @rachelkrau The 4 Ls 19 Variations
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
21. @rachelkrau 21 Sailboat What propels us forward? What slows us down? What risks are coming up? Variations
22. @rachelkrau Sailboat 22 Variations
23. @rachelkrau Breaking Bad Edition 23 Variations
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
25. @rachelkrau 25 SWOT Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Variations
26. @rachelkrau SWOT 26 Variations
27. @rachelkrau SWOT 27 Variations
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
29. @rachelkrau 29 Freeform Literally sitting around a table talking to each other. Variations
30. @rachelkrau Freeform 30 Variations
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
32. Regardless of method, track and revisit action plans. Variations
33. @rachelkrau 33 Variations
34. @rachelkrau Applications 34
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
36. @rachelkrau 36 Design 
 Teams Evaluate team communication, consistency, design tools, and processes. Choose your cadence: monthly or quarterly. Variations
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
38. @rachelkrau 38 Yourself! Variations
39. @rachelkrau 1.5 Years Ago 39 Variations
40. @rachelkrau 40 Variations
41. @rachelkrau 41 Variations
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
43. @rachelkrau Troubleshooting 43
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
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
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
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
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
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
50. @rachelkrau Bottom Line 50
51. Retros 
 build trust.
52. Retros 
 help you learn and grow.
53. Retros 
 are for everyone.
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