Retrospective
A structured team meeting held after a project or iteration to reflect on what went well, what didn't, and how to improve.
Also known as: Retro, Sprint retrospective, Team retrospective, Post-mortem
Category: Techniques
Tags: agile, teams, continuous-improvement, processes
Explanation
A retrospective is a structured reflection meeting where a team examines its recent work to identify successes, challenges, and actionable improvements. It is a cornerstone of Agile methodologies but applicable far beyond software development to any team or individual seeking continuous improvement.
**Core questions** (the classic format):
1. **What went well?** — Identify and celebrate successes to reinforce good practices
2. **What didn't go well?** — Honestly acknowledge problems without blame
3. **What will we do differently?** — Commit to specific, actionable changes
**Popular retrospective formats**:
- **Start/Stop/Continue**: What should we start doing, stop doing, and keep doing?
- **4Ls**: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for
- **Mad/Sad/Glad**: Emotional mapping of the experience
- **Sailboat**: Wind (what propels us), anchors (what holds us back), rocks (risks ahead)
- **Timeline**: Walk through events chronologically, noting high and low points
- **Starfish**: More of, less of, keep doing, start doing, stop doing
**Key principles**:
- **Psychological safety**: People must feel safe to speak honestly without fear of reprisal
- **Blameless culture**: Focus on systems and processes, not individuals
- **Action-oriented**: Every retrospective should produce concrete action items with owners
- **Follow-through**: Review previous action items at the start of each retrospective
- **Variety**: Rotate formats to prevent staleness and surface different insights
**When to hold retrospectives**:
- End of each sprint or iteration (typically every 1-2 weeks)
- After project milestones or completion
- After significant incidents or failures
- Periodically for ongoing teams (monthly or quarterly)
**Common pitfalls**:
- No action items or no follow-through on action items
- Same issues raised repeatedly without resolution
- Dominated by a few voices while others stay silent
- Blame-oriented discussions that shut down honesty
- Skipping retrospectives when the team is 'too busy'
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