Fresh Retrospectives Lessons Learned
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3 More Fresh Retrospectives by Wayne Grant, May 15, 2013 | SHARE
Are your project retrospectives getting a bit stale, diluting their effectiveness? Keeping retrospectives fresh for your team requires diligence on your part, but the rewards from continuous improvement are worth it. Here are three fun, simple retrospective techniques that can help get your teams re-engaged.
Wayne Grant
Scrum Master
I am a Scrum Master with a strong background in development and have a p…
Retrospectives are a catalyst for continuous team improvement, providing a feedback loop to examine methods, teamwork and results. But holding monotonous retrospectives isn’t much better than holding none at all. About a year ago I shared three techniques for keeping things interesting (see “Fresh Retrospectives”). Since then I have tried out many other techniques to continue to engage my teams. Here are three that I have found to be especially effective.
Technique 1 – The Cool Wall
The Cool Wall is my favorite retrospective technique at the moment as it is not only very effective but also a lot of fun. I discovered it while browsing blog posts on the web looking for new retrospective techniques to try out. I am a fan of the UK motoring show Top Gear and this technique is based on an occasional segment from the show, “The Cool Wall.”
In the show the presenters Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond decide how cool various cars are by placing pictures of them in various categories labelled: “Seriously Uncool”, “Uncool”, “Cool”, and “Sub Zero”. The show involves audience participation but ultimately the presenters (especially Clarkson) decide how cool each car is (usually overriding the audience).
For the retrospective version of The Cool Wall the cars are replaced by cards that represent positive practices or behaviours that the team engage in. For example, ‘Continuous Improvement’, ‘TDD’, ‘Listening to Customer Feedback’, etc.
The Scrum
3 More Fresh Retrospectives by Wayne Grant, May 15, 2013 | SHARE
Are your project retrospectives getting a bit stale, diluting their effectiveness? Keeping retrospectives fresh for your team requires diligence on your part, but the rewards from continuous improvement are worth it. Here are three fun, simple retrospective techniques that can help get your teams re-engaged.
Wayne Grant
Scrum Master
I am a Scrum Master with a strong background in development and have a p…
Retrospectives are a catalyst for continuous team improvement, providing a feedback loop to examine methods, teamwork and results. But holding monotonous retrospectives isn’t much better than holding none at all. About a year ago I shared three techniques for keeping things interesting (see “Fresh Retrospectives”). Since then I have tried out many other techniques to continue to engage my teams. Here are three that I have found to be especially effective.
Technique 1 – The Cool Wall
The Cool Wall is my favorite retrospective technique at the moment as it is not only very effective but also a lot of fun. I discovered it while browsing blog posts on the web looking for new retrospective techniques to try out. I am a fan of the UK motoring show Top Gear and this technique is based on an occasional segment from the show, “The Cool Wall.”
In the show the presenters Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond decide how cool various cars are by placing pictures of them in various categories labelled: “Seriously Uncool”, “Uncool”, “Cool”, and “Sub Zero”. The show involves audience participation but ultimately the presenters (especially Clarkson) decide how cool each car is (usually overriding the audience).
For the retrospective version of The Cool Wall the cars are replaced by cards that represent positive practices or behaviours that the team engage in. For example, ‘Continuous Improvement’, ‘TDD’, ‘Listening to Customer Feedback’, etc.
The Scrum