The Retrospective is the Scrum Event which is performed at the end of the Sprint. It provides a formal opportunity to focus on inspection and adaptation and is the ideal opportunity for the team to focus on continuous improvement. This is Kaizen in Lean.
As per the Scrum Guide, the purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to:
- Inspect how the last Sprint went with regards to people, relationships, process, and tools;
- Identify and order the major items that went well and potential improvements; and,
- Create a plan for implementing improvements to the way the Scrum Team does its work.
The Small Print
How the Retrospective is performed is open for discovery as with everything in Scrum the framework only sprinkles a few bread crumbs for us to follow…
…But never fear! Here are a few key points to consider when planning and conducting a Retro. For popular Retrospective formats to run through check out these (links).
Duration
The Scrum Guide states: “This is at most a three-hour meeting for one-month Sprints. For shorter Sprints, the event is usually shorter.”
This works out to be 45mins for every 1 week of a Sprint. In reality just be ‘Lean’ about the duration and be productive an don’t waste time. Some teams think 60-90 minutes is ample enough time regardless of Sprint length. The more Retros you do, the more of an understanding of how much time you’ll need. The empirical process kicks in!
Who Can Attend
The Scrum Guide states: “The Sprint Retrospective is an opportunity for the Scrum Team…”
That is, the team actually doing the work – including the Scrum Master and Product Owner.
But what about the Customer or other company members. Well, you’ll have to ask yourself this: “What valuable comments are they in a position to make regarding how the team inspects and adapts its process?” So, be diplomatic here and decline their attendance as for one reason the Scrum Team won’t be ‘open’ and will hide their true feelings. Remember that the Sprint Review is for the customer.
The Purpose
The Scrum Guide states: “The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to:
-Inspect how the last Sprint went with regards to people, relationships, process, and tools;
-Identify and order the major items that went well and potential improvements; and,
-Create a plan for implementing improvements to the way the Scrum Team does its work.”
But the question is, how do you conduct the Retro to obtain this info? By reading the 3 purposes it seems straight forward. Just have a conversation with the Scrum Team respecting the Scrum values and go through them 1 by 1.
OK, that’s easier written than done! The key to getting the most out of the Retro is to have the team engaged and to actively participate. Read more on best Retros here.
Time For The Scrum Master
If ever there was a Scrum Event to facilitate then this is it. The Scrum Master has a few objects here as listed below. However, it is still for all the the Scrum Team to participate on an equal footing. This event should embrace the spirt of team collaboration.
- The Scrum Master ensures that the event takes place and that attendants understand its purpose.
- The Scrum Master ensures that the meeting is positive and productive.
- The Scrum Master teaches all to keep it within the time-box.
- The Scrum Master participates as a peer team member in the meeting from the accountability over the Scrum process.
- The Scrum Master encourages the Scrum Team to improve, within the Scrum process framework, its development process and practices to make it more effective and enjoyable for the next Sprint.
The Outcomes
- The Scrum Team have made improvements to how they meet the next Sprint Goal.
- The definition of “Done” is updated if required.
- An improvement is added to the Backlog for the next Sprint.
General Tips
- Get a good meeting space booked out in advance.
- Ensure all the Scrum Team attends and are prepared.
- Get to the meeting space early if need to prepare.
- Start with previous actions, just put them up on wall or briefly mention them.
- Make sure no-one dominates as the Scrum team are on an equal footing.
- Make sure every Scrum Team member’s voice is heard.
- If there’s a facilitator, make sure it’s not command and control.
- End each retrospective by asking for feedback on the retro itself.
- Keep the meeting Lean, don’t over-run the time-box.
- Mix the Retro ups to keep the Scrum Team engaged.