Agile product development teams usually organize retrospectives once or twice a month to find ways to improve their practices. These sessions are part of agile product development, and their objective is to improve the team’s performance by learning how to do things more simply and efficiently. Teams that have regular retrospectives enjoy their work and improve their methods more compared to other teams.

Could Other Teams Also Benefit from Retrospectives?

Outside product development teams, monthly retrospective sessions are quite rare. Teams might get together for staff development days, which are held once or twice a year, both to find ways to improve their work and to enjoy fun activities.

Is the product development environment so much more dynamic or challenging compared to others that product development teams need regular retrospectives while others do not? Or could it be that other teams could also learn and improve faster if they organized monthly retrospectives instead of annual staff development days?

It’s Better to Make Small Improvements Often than Larger Ones Once a Year 

The objective of regular short retrospective sessions is to ensure the efficiency, learning, and development of the team. It is easier to improve things this way instead of writing down a long list of things that need improvement and getting back to it after six months or a year. This way, the list of improvements is not likely to grow into a gigantic improvement project that is difficult to carry out. When the team notices that things actually improve, their ability and motivation to find the next development objective are noticeably improved.

When different methods are used in retrospectives, the team members give more suggestions for improvement and have more energy coming to the retrospective sessions.

The “Same Old, Same Old” Will Leave You Uninspired

When retrospectives are organized on a regular basis, it can be challenging to keep coming up with fresh retrospective methods and practices. If each session is the same, there is a risk that the they become dry and monotonous. When different retrospective methods are used, participants become more energized and they share more ideas. Images usually help people form ideas more than words. Associations that stem from images can generate new ideas and perspectives. At times, the retrospectives should particularly focus on achievements and pleasant tasks. The team should consider how to promote these positive feelings at the workplace.

Visitors Needed for Retrospectives

In order to ensure continuous improvement, people should also understand that team-specific improvements do not necessarily improve the operations of the entire organization. Retrospectives should also include participants from other teams, either by having visitors or by organizing a Retro of Retros, a retrospective session consisting of different teams, much in the same vein as in the Scrum of Scrums. In addition to using different methods, inviting visitors is also a good way to bring fresh approaches and viewpoints to the retrospectives.

Fragile or Agile?

There is no reason why agile methods should be reserved for retrospectives only. Many teams could benefit from keeping a prioritized schedule and organizing daily, 15-minute stand-up sync meetings instead of long weekly or monthly meetings. In fact, the methods of agile product development can easily be applied to all teamwork. You can find plenty of information online on effective retrospective methods and the application of agile methods outside the product development environment. 

Changing methods can be challenging, but with outsider assistance and coaching, it becomes less painful.

How Can Contribyte Help You?

Contribyte can help your team adopt effective retrospective practices by providing a short training and guidance. We can also assist you in making your methods more agile using, for example, the Scrum or Kanban methods. Changing methods can be challenging, but with outsider assistance and coaching, it becomes less painful and time-consuming. We can offer you a Retro Box toolkit with various fun and effective retrospective methods and necessary materials that are easy to use and carry from one room to another.

More information on this topic:

TechRepublic: How to apply Agile practices with your non-tech team or business.

FunRetrospectives.com

Ben Linders: Retrospective Exercises Toolbox.