What Is The Key To Successful Retrospective Activity - GoRetro

The key to a successful retrospective activity is creating a safe environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their honest feedback and ideas about the project or process. This can be achieved by setting clear expectations and guidelines for the retrospective, such as establishing ground rules for respectful communication and ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to speak.

Another important factor is focusing on actionable items that can be implemented to improve the team's performance. This involves identifying specific areas that need improvement and brainstorming potential solutions that can be put into practice in the future. It's important to prioritize the most impactful changes and assign responsibilities for implementing them.

Finally, it's essential to follow up on the agreed-upon actions and assess their effectiveness in the next retrospective. This helps the scrum team track progress and adjust their approach as necessary to continue improving.

Following this list of reasons for a failed retrospective, highlighted by Esther Derby, one can understand how to run a retrospective meeting while getting the most out of it:

• Insufficient preparation
• Lack of focus
• Failing to gather data
• Dominating conversations, focusing only on external impediments
• Biting off more than the team can chew
• Keeping a separate "Improvement Plan"

Please note it's not enough to force team members to attend a retrospective physically; they must be willing and engaged participants. The team and stakeholders must be prepared to take corrective action at the end of each retrospective.