Here is a summary of the 3 styles of retrospectives that you could use to make your retrospectives interesting.
This info is from the "Agile Workshop: Continuous Improvement Through Retrospectives"; session conducted on Dec 15th Wednesday by Sreekanth Tadipatri.
Method 1: Start-Stop-Continue
- Create 3 columns titled Start, Stop and Continue
- Have team members jot down what they would like to stop doing, start doing, and continue doing on 3 different colored Post-Its
- Paste the different colored post-its in the 3 columns
A fun exercise and you've got some learnings too. Remember to pick up only one or two ideas to implement in the next iteration to avoid being overwhelmed.
Method 2: Team as a Boat
- On a chart draw a boat at the center which signifies the team
- Include an Anchor - to signify those risks that weigh the team down, work could come to a standstill if this risk comes to pass. For example:
- Dependent user story not delivered in time
- Product Owner not available for clarification
- Include a Rock - to signify those risks which if they materialize could be a disaster. These could be items that are usually outside the control of the team and require management intervention. However there is a good chance that these risks may not materialize. For example:
- Internet downtime
- High attrition
- System failure
- Include positive winds - to signify those things that are working well for the team; are the teams strengths that we need to build and nurture
- Include the headwinds - to signify the forces that cause the team to go off course or slow down. For example:
- Team member not performing to expectation,
- Team members switching tasks
- Have the team think about these aspects, and paste them around the objects
And you have feedback to inspect and adapt
Method 3: Happy-Sad-Insight-Challenges
- Create 4 quadrants
- Quadrant 1 - Happy smiley - for those things that made the team happy
- Quadrant 2 - Sad smiley - for those things that made the team unhappy
- Quadrant 3 - Bulb - for those incidents that were insightful
- Quadrant 4 - Question mark - for those challenging incidents
Have the team reflect upon these aspects and paste their thoughts and you are on your way to a reflective journey.
