How to Run a PANCAKE Retrospective

**By Moye Balogun**

For Agile teams that require more
defined direction than others, such as newly developed teams, a PANCAKE
retrospective is a useful method (Rose). Contrary to what one might expect from
the name, PANCAKE retrospectives have nothing to do with delectable breakfast
food. Rather, PANCAKE stands for “Puzzles, Appreciations, News, Challenges,
Aspirations, Knowledge, and Endorsements” (Rose). This is a list of categories
that set the agenda for the retrospective (Rose). To begin, the facilitator
will list the acronym on a board and the team will set post-it notes that apply
to each category (Rose).

time to expressing what they appreciate about others in the group is quite beneficial.
Doing this makes meetings more enjoyable and it can inadvertently highlight
challenges (Rose). In Doug Rose’s video seminar about PANCAKE retrospectives,
he gives the example of a team member saying “I really appreciate the
organization’s commitment to Scrum. So is there a way we can send more people
through training?” This appreciation compliments the organization, while
simultaneously highlighting that it would be a benefit for more employees to be
trained in Scrum.

### **News**

This is the step where the group
will gather information usually about their organization (Rose). Even if the
discussion involves “rumors or gossip,” it can useful if it applies to the team
(Rose). By bringing up a topic, there is an opportunity to confirm or deny the
information or reserve it for further study later. The discussion of news
usually brings about a collective awareness of what events are taking place and
becomes beneficial when planning out how the team intends to progress (Rose).

### **Challenges**

Challenges often relate to other
items on the agenda (Rose). In this phase, it is the facilitator’s job to turn
the identified challenges into action items that will implement a change
(Rose). If the facilitator fails to do this, the same problems will keep
showing up at the end of every sprint (Rose).

### **Aspirations**

Aspirations, or the “hopes and
wishes of a team,” should also connect with action items (Rose). Whether these
aspirations are deemed as dull necessities or exciting opportunities, they should
not be “empty wishes”, but rather, need to be met with a clear plan on how they
can possibly be achieved (Rose).

### **Knowledge**

The team’s knowledge should stem
from the information they have gathered from the Puzzles, News, and Challenges
discussions of the PANCAKE retrospective (Rose). Knowledge is where the team
will create a “shared story” based on the input of all members (Rose). The
facilitator might begin this by directly asking the team what they just learned
(Rose).

### **Endorsements**

Endorsements can be a challenging
portion of this retrospective because it entails getting the team to agree on
and rank the newly created action items (Rose). The endorsements portion should
also involve the team developing a “shared understanding” of what it takes to
overcome the challenges they have and be in consensus on whether the
improvements they wish to make are truly valuable (Rose).

The
PANCAKE retrospective is a good method of starting conversation in new Agile
teams (Rose). Following this technique allows for teams to be clearly directed
by the facilitator, but not controlled (Rose). Understanding these sections,
and dedicating an equal amount of time to each, gives teams the ability to
uncover what they deem significant and keeps them on track to conduct a
productive retrospective.

**Works Cited**

Rose, Doug. “How to Run a
PANCAKE Retrospective.” *Lynda.com - from LinkedIn*, 4 Feb. 2016, www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/How-run-PANCAKE-retrospective/175961/468247-4.html.

**Image Courtesy**

www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/How-run-PANCAKE-retrospective/175961/468247-4.html