5 phases of retrospective

5 Phases of
retrospective

A retrospective in an
agile project is where a facilitator gets a team to reflect their working to
find out their strengths and weaknesses from the project. After that, they can
use that to continuously become better and improve on the projects to come. When
going through a retrospective and to make it organized, there are five steps
which every team should go through which are start, data gathering, insight,
decisions, and closing phase. In this paper, we will go through all five
phases, in more detail, to better understand why the retrospective is so
important.

            In the
start phase, this phase is about creating structure and safety. The
retrospective will start by asking the question, “what do you expect to get
from this retrospective?” Each person will write on a sticky note their
thoughts. Each person will then take turns reading their answer to the
question. During this phase, it is important to make sure that everybody is
comfortable and cooperating. This is just to get an idea of what the team
things to get out of it because after the retrospective is over, they will be
asked if it met their expectations.

            The second
part of the retrospective is the data gathering. This part of the retrospective
is about getting information from the team. Normally, the facilitator will use
different methods to get the minds of the team going which will make it easier
for the team to gather information. After that, the facilitator will use a
graph or diagram, normally a Starfish diagram or PANKCAKE agenda to display the
information for the team to see. Once the issues have been identified they will
develop SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and
Timeboxed) to understand what went wrong or the challenges that were faced. You
will find that each person will have their own perspective on what happened
during each issue, and from that, the facilitator can create a shared
understanding for the team which will push the team into the third phase.

            The third
phase is insight. This is one of the most important parts because it helps the
team understand the challenges that were met. The facilitator will work with
the team to find a variety of reason and identify patterns to see what led the
team to those challenges. This is not a place to point fingers on who is the
weakest link or the cause of the problem, this is to identify what happened in
the situation and how to prevent it from happening again.

            The fourth
phase is the decision phase. This is where the team creates clear action items
to break down the challenges. You will find that if the team can break down the
challenge, it will be easier for the team to address how to fix the process.
Each member must create at least one action item. Then the facilitator will be
in charge of making sure that each action item is addressed.

            Lastly is
the closing phase. Just like in the opening phase where the team is asked what
they expect to get out of the retrospective, this is where the team will find
out if those expectations are met. If the team feels positive and that it was
productive, then there is a good change that the retrospective has met the team’s
expectations. The facilitator will take notes throughout the whole
retrospective to see if there were any problems. The facilitator will then
apply changes to the next retrospective so that those problems don’t arise
again.

Works Cited

Rose, Doug. “Choose an
Ideal Meeting Space.” *Lynda.com - from LinkedIn*, LInkedIn, 4 Feb.
2016,
www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Choose-ideal-meeting-space/175961/468239-4.html.