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Retrospective and continuous learning

At the end of each sprint the team is conducting a retrospective to know what to:

  1. Continue doing
  2. Stop doing
  3. Try doing

This can be covered with the questions:

  • What was supposed to happen?
  • What actually happened?
  • What worked really well during this project?
  • What should we make sure we do again in the future?
  • Where did we run into challenges?

Make sure you outline actionables and discuss with the team how to implement them to foster continuous learning.

Dos and don’ts

Definitely do

  • Emphasize the need for continuous improvement (processes are not set in stone)
  • Learn from history
  • Take action
  • Add it in your project plan
  • Be honnest and constructive
  • Keep track of past retrospectives

Do not

  • Point fingers
  • Use the occasion to vent
  • Considering the retrospective a “post-mortem” or “after-action” report rather than an opportunity to plan for improvement
  • Suppress feelings
  • Include uninvited external members (team only unless invited)