The retrospective is a fundamental aspect of any Agile methodology. It is a moment for the team to pause and reflect, to celebrate successes, identify opportunities for improvement, and make plans for improvements.
There are various retrospective methodologies, and each offers its unique benefits. AgileFlow, a feature-rich platform for remote teams, supports six of these methodologies. Let’s delve into each of them to understand how they work, why you might need them, their pros and cons, and see some examples.
1. Classic Retrospective 🔗
A Classic Retrospective is divided into three columns: ‘What went well’, ‘What can be improved’, and ‘Action Items’.
How it Works 🔗
Each team member contributes their thoughts under each column, enabling the team to gain a comprehensive understanding of the team’s performance.
Why Use the Classic Retrospective? 🔗
This method offers a straightforward and structured format that makes it easy for teams to express their thoughts and opinions.
Pros and Cons 🔗
The simplicity of this method is its main advantage. However, it might not promote as much creative thinking as other methodologies.
Example 🔗
An example of a Classic Retrospective on AgileFlow might look like this:
- What went well: “We completed all tasks ahead of schedule.”
- What can be improved: “Communication between the frontend and backend team could be better.”
- Action Items: “Organize a weekly sync-up meeting between frontend and backend teams.”
2. Starfish Retrospective 🔗
The Starfish Retrospective encourages teams to reflect on varying degrees of things they want to bring up, using five categories: ‘Keep Doing’, ‘Less Of’, ‘More Of’, ‘Stop Doing’, and ‘Start Doing’.
How it Works 🔗
Teams categorize their thoughts under these five categories, allowing for more nuanced feedback and action planning.
Why Use the Starfish Retrospective? 🔗
This methodology is particularly beneficial for teams that want to delve deeper into their performance and workflows.
Pros and Cons 🔗
The Starfish Retrospective promotes comprehensive feedback, but it might be time-consuming for larger teams.
Example 🔗
A Starfish Retrospective might look like this:
- Keep Doing: “Daily stand-up meetings are keeping everyone aligned.”
- Less Of: “Lengthy team meetings that could be shorter or sent in an email.”
- More Of: “Cross-training between teams to understand the bigger picture.”
- Stop Doing: “Waiting until the end of the sprint to test features.”
- Start Doing: “Implementing pair programming to reduce bugs and improve code quality.”
3. Six Thinking Hats 🔗
The Six Thinking Hats retrospective encourages team members to think in various ways: ‘White Hat’ (facts and information), ‘Red Hat’ (feelings and intuition), ‘Black Hat’ (critical judgement), ‘Yellow Hat’ (positive judgement), ‘Green Hat’ (ideas and possibilities), and ‘Blue Hat’ (process control).
How it Works 🔗
This methodology allows for a structured conversation where every viewpoint is welcomed and heard.
Why Use the Six Thinking Hats? 🔗
It’s useful for teams that need to examine a problem or project from multiple perspectives.
Pros and Cons 🔗
This method encourages diverse thinking but might be complex for new teams or those under time constraints.
Example 🔗
An example of a Six Thinking Hats session might include the following:
- White Hat: “Our last project was delivered on time and under budget.”
- Red Hat: “The team feels stressed and overworked.”
- Black Hat: “We might struggle to maintain this pace in the long term.”
- Yellow Hat: “Our client is delighted with our work and is likely to give us more projects.”
- Green Hat: “Can we automate some tasks to reduce workload?”
- Blue Hat: “Let’s investigate automation tools in the next sprint.”
4. Todos 🔗
The Todos method focuses on concrete action items for the team.
How it Works 🔗
The team lists and discusses tasks that need to be done in the upcoming sprint.
Why Use the Todos Method? 🔗
It’s a straightforward method that helps teams focus on the tasks at hand.
Pros and Cons 🔗
This method is excellent for action-oriented teams but might not offer space for deeper reflections.
Example 🔗
An example of a Todos list might include:
- “Optimize the database to improve application performance.”
- “Improve the UI of the login page.”
5. Pros and Cons 🔗
This retrospective style involves a simple weighing of pros and cons related to a specific topic, project, or sprint.
How it Works 🔗
The team discusses the advantages and disadvantages and makes decisions based on this balance.
Why Use the Pros and Cons Method? 🔗
It’s a simple and effective method for decision-making.
Pros and Cons 🔗
The Pros and Cons method is easy to understand and implement but might oversimplify complex issues.
Example 🔗
A Pros and Cons session might look like this:
- Pros: “Our new software architecture improved performance.”
- Cons: “However, it caused several existing features to break.”
Each of these retrospective methodologies offers unique benefits, and teams can choose the most suitable one based on their needs. AgileFlow supports all these methods, making it easy for teams to conduct effective retrospectives remotely.