5 phases of retrospective

5 Phases of retrospective

A retrospective in an agile project is where a facilitator gets a team to reflect their working to find out their strengths and weaknesses from the project. After that, they can use that to continuously become better and improve on the projects to come. When going through a retrospective and to make it organized, there are five steps which every team should go through which are start, data gathering, insight, decisions, and closing phase. In this paper, we will go through all five phases, in more detail, to better understand why the retrospective is so important.

In the start phase, this phase is about creating structure and safety. The retrospective will start by asking the question, “what do you expect to get from this retrospective?” Each person will write on a sticky note their thoughts. Each person will then take turns reading their answer to the question. During this phase, it is important to make sure that everybody is comfortable and cooperating. This is just to get an idea of what the team things to get out of it because after the retrospective is over, they will be asked if it met their expectations.

The second part of the retrospective is the data gathering. This part of the retrospective is about getting information from the team. Normally, the facilitator will use different methods to get the minds of the team going which will make it easier for the team to gather information. After that, the facilitator will use a graph or diagram, normally a Starfish diagram or PANKCAKE agenda to display the information for the team to see. Once the issues have been identified they will develop SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timeboxed) to understand what went wrong or the challenges that were faced. You will find that each person will have their own perspective on what happened during each issue, and from that, the facilitator can create a shared understanding for the team which will push the team into the third phase.

The third phase is insight. This is one of the most important parts because it helps the team understand the challenges that were met. The facilitator will work with the team to find a variety of reason and identify patterns to see what led the team to those challenges. This is not a place to point fingers on who is the weakest link or the cause of the problem, this is to identify what happened in the situation and how to prevent it from happening again.

The fourth phase is the decision phase. This is where the team creates clear action items to break down the challenges. You will find that if the team can break down the challenge, it will be easier for the team to address how to fix the process. Each member must create at least one action item. Then the facilitator will be in charge of making sure that each action item is addressed.

Lastly is the closing phase. Just like in the opening phase where the team is asked what they expect to get out of the retrospective, this is where the team will find out if those expectations are met. If the team feels positive and that it was productive, then there is a good change that the retrospective has met the team’s expectations. The facilitator will take notes throughout the whole retrospective to see if there were any problems. The facilitator will then apply changes to the next retrospective so that those problems don’t arise again.

Works Cited

Rose, Doug. “Choose an Ideal Meeting Space.” Lynda.com - from LinkedIn, LInkedIn, 4 Feb. 2016, www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Choose-ideal-meeting-space/175961/468239-4.html.