Sprint retro
How the team actually feels about the last sprint.
Worth a look
- Build a tower, build a teamTom Wujec, TEDThe marshmallow challenge: why kindergartners beat business-school graduates at building something together. (opens in a new tab)
- Forget the pecking order at workMargaret Heffernan, TEDThe superchicken experiment, and why a team of stars loses to a team that helps each other. (opens in a new tab)
- How Google builds the perfect teamInsider TechCharles Duhigg on what Google found when it studied its own teams: who's on the team mattered less than how they treat each other. (opens in a new tab)
- How to turn a group of strangers into a teamAmy Edmondson, TEDHow the Chilean mine rescue worked with people who had never worked together, and what any new project team can borrow from it. (opens in a new tab)
- How to build a company where the best ideas winRay Dalio, TEDRadical transparency at Bridgewater: recorded meetings and everyone rating everyone's thinking in real time. Fascinating whether or not you'd want it. (opens in a new tab)
More (2)
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick LencioniPatrick LencioniThe author walks through his pyramid, from no trust to nobody owning results. You'll know which layer your team is stuck on. (opens in a new tab)
- Postmortem Culture: Learning from FailureGoogle SRE bookHow Google writes up what went wrong without hunting for someone to blame, so people tell the truth next time. (opens in a new tab)
The conviction read: the spread on "comfortable speaking up" surfaces quiet dissent a thumbs-up poll hides.
What's in the template
- The last sprint went well overall. puck
- I had what I needed to do my work. puck
- Blockers got cleared quickly enough. puck
- I felt comfortable speaking up this sprint. puck
- Our meetings were a good use of time. puck
- I'm optimistic about the next sprint. puck
Questions about this template
When should the team fill it in?
After the sprint ends and before the retro meeting, so the discussion starts from what the whole team thinks rather than from whoever speaks first. Put the item with the widest spread at the top of the agenda.
What if 'comfortable speaking up' lands low?
Treat it as the first thing to fix, ahead of tools or process. Ask the team how meetings run rather than who felt shut out, and change one habit, such as going round the room, before the next sprint.