Purpose

Metaphor: Medical diagnosis!

The Scrum Team identifies possibilities for improving the joined work process in order to reach targets more effectively and efficiently.

Ingredients

• 2 flip charts, 1 whiteboard, marker pens

• Sticky notes

  

Remember: Persons shown in grey may attend on invitation only.

Insider Tip: Our spatial conception sees the past on the left side and the future on the right side. Hence, it would be a good idea to work from left to right, meaning that the flip chart for "What went well?" should be placed in the left corner of the room and the flip chart for "What could be improved?" is placed on the right side. The Product Owner is part of the Scrum-Team, so he/she attends the Retrospective as well.

Basics

• Learning from the past for the future.
• Improving the productivity of the Team.

Don't

1. ... judge the findings.
2. ... include managers in the meeting.
3. ... talk about the findings of the meeting to anyone else but fellow Team members, unless specifically agreed upon.

Output

• Improvements that can be added to the Impediment Backlog
• Input for the Team Backlog

Duration/Location

90 mins, if possible, immediately after the Sprint Review.

Procedure

1. Prepare a flip chart on the question of "What went well?".
2. Prepare a flip chart on the question of "What could be improved?".
3. Draw a timeline from Sprint start to Sprint finish.
4. Hand out a pack of sticky notes to each Team member.
5. Start the Retrospective.
6. It is advisable to begin with an exercise that conveys security and indicates that the Team can now speak freely.
7. Collect facts – for 3–5 mins, the Team and its ScrumMaster should note down significant events that took place during the Sprint. Use one sticky note for each event. Afterwards, everyone gives a short explanation while hanging it onto the timeline.
8. "What went well?" – Same procedure as with the timeline, only this time place the sticky notes onto the prepared flip chart.
9. The ScrumMaster inserts an exercise for thought interruption in order to separate these two parts.
10. "What could be improved?" works just like the "What went well" part.
11. Now put the the sticky notes in order:
12. What can we do? Input for the Team.
13. What cannot be done by us? Input for the Impediment Backlog.
14. Prioritise both lists based on the opinion of the Team members.
15. The findings take immediate effect. It is advisable to choose three issues from a) for implementation in the next Sprint.