What is Retrospective in Agile Development? Examples of methods and ways of doing things

In agile development , retrospective is “looking back”.

Retrospectives are important as a Scrum team iterates through sprints.

Of course, it is important in terms of product quality, but retrospectives are also very important for the growth of the Scrum team.

In order for the Scrum team to grow, I want you to keep in mind that you should always speak positively in the retrospective!

In this article, I will introduce typical retrospective methods, but it is common to say that retrospective is a positive place for all methods.

In this article, we’ll discuss why retrospectives are important and some best practices.

Joe Justice

At the same time as learning the retrospective method and method, I would like you to learn that the Scrum team can grow in the retrospective.

What is a Sprint Retrospective?

Retrospective means “looking back” in Japanese.
In the sprint, look back at “what went well” and “what went wrong”.

The purpose is to incorporate the conversations and learnings that arise from reflection into the next step as “improvements.” This allows us to continuously improve not only the way we work, but also the quality.

Why is a Sprint Retrospective necessary?

In a nutshell, Sprint Retrospectives are necessary to enable teams to continuously improve .
Most of the time, I just do the task in front of me and just move on to the next task. Retrospectives help teams improve how they work by looking back at their work and processes.

What are the benefits of the Sprint Retrospective?

In retrospective, we look back on “process”, “technology” and “team”. The point I want to note is that it is not a place to check or look back on the product.
Continuing to improve “process”, “technology” and “team” enhances team power and brings many benefits.

Promote communication and enhance team strength

Retrospectives allow everyone to contribute ideas, vent frustrations, and participate in decision making. This increases transparency and openness and creates an environment of trust within the team.

Improve team productivity

Reviewing and improving processes, technology, and team psychological safety can lead to increased productivity.

How to do a Sprint Retrospective

There is no single correct technique for retrospectives.
Many techniques exist for retrospectives.

There are really a lot of things, from commonly used ones to unique ones.

The important thing is to make it an opportunity for all team members to celebrate their successes and reflect on their failures.
Whatever method you use, you should be able to achieve this.

Joe Justice

Below are some recommended methods.

The Sprint Retrospective methodology

We will explain how to pick up from commonly used ones to slightly unique ones.

Joe Justice

You can use any of them, and it is also recommended to change the method from time to time.

Retrospective method

KPTA
Fun Done Learn
4L
What Went Wel
Start Stop Continue
Mad sad Glad
speed boat
starfish
three little pigs
speed car

KPTA

The KPTA framework is based on the four perspectives of “Keep”, “Problem”, “Try”, and “Action”. It is a retrospective method that thinks in a framework.

STEP

Share “Keep” and “Problem” within the team

Each team member writes “Keep” and “Problem” on a chart while looking back on the sprint. Share “Keep” and “Problem” within the team.

STEP

Share “Tries” within the team

Write and display improvement proposals for “Keep” and “Problme” in “Try”. Even if it is not related to “Keep” and “Problem”, I also write “Try” for new challenges.
Share “Tries” with your team.

STEP

Decide “Action”

“Try” is an improvement, and you don’t have to do all of the things listed. The selected “Try” is put into action and materialized. Write this in “Action” and display it in the table.

Fun Done Learn

Fun Done Learn is a retrospective method that uses a framework to think from the three perspectives of “Fun”, “Done”, and “Learn”. It is the simplest framework among retrospective methods.

STEP

Write “Fun”, “Done”, and “Learn” and display them on the table

Each team member writes “Fun”, “Done”, and “Learn” and displays them on the chart while reviewing the sprint. It may apply to only one, or it may apply to two, or three.

STEP

Share within your team

Share with your team and figure out which areas you want to improve in the next sprint.

4L

4L is a retrospective that uses a framework to think from the four perspectives of ” liked”, “learned”, “lacked”, and “longed”. method.

STEP

Write out “Liked”, “Learned”, “Lacked”, and “Longed”

Each team member writes “Like”, “Learned”, “Lacked”, and “Longed” on the chart as they review the sprint. Share within the team.

STEP

Vote for items and discuss

Most of the time, we vote on which items we want to improve in the next sprint.

What Went Wel

What Went Wel is a retrospective method that uses a framework to think from three perspectives: “Went Well,” “To Improve,” and “Action Items.”

STEP

Write “Went Well” and “To Improve” and display it on the table

Each team member writes “Went Well” and “To Improve” on the chart as they review the sprint.
This is very intentional. It’s easier to say, “What worked and what didn’t?”
But when you say, “What worked and what do you want to improve?” the focus shifts from negativity and frustration to positive, constructive feedback.

STEP

Write and display “Action Items”

Share within your team and write down your ‘Action Items’ for the next sprint for ‘Went Well’ and ‘To Improve’. Also put these items in order of priority.

Start Stop Continue

Start Stop Continue is a retrospective method that uses a framework to think from the three perspectives of “Start”, “Stop” and “Continue”.

STEP

Write “Start” “Stop” “Continue” and display it on the table

Each team member writes “Start”, “Stop” and “Continue” and displays them on the table while looking back on the sprint.

STEP

share with team

Share within the team. If you have similar items, group them together.

STEP

vote

The team votes to decide which ideas to proceed with and which ideas to discard for now in order to decide on improvements for the next sprint.

STEP

discussion

Looking at the simplified board, the team discusses each category. Start Stop Continue is to eliminate the negative elements of the process and strengthen the positive elements.

Mad sad Glad

Mad Sad Glad is a retrospective method that uses a framework to think from the three perspectives of “Mad”, “Sad” and “Glad”.

STEP

Write “Mad” “Sad” “Glad” and display it on the table

Each team member writes “Mad”, “Sad”, and “Glad” on a chart as they review their sprints. And share it with your team.

STEP

choose an item

In order to narrow down the items for discussion, a vote will be held to select a few items. The team then discusses and thinks about improvement items for the next sprint.

speed boat

Speedboat is a fun and interactive framework for teams to reflect on their sprints. This retrospective approach helps you visualize your ship (the team) reaching its destination (the project goal) as the yacht heads for shore.

Yacht: The team itself
Sun: What went well, what makes you happy
Island or coast: The ultimate goal or vision of the team
Splash (wind or sail): What helps the team stay on
track Anchor: The team or project What is blocking or slowing progress
Rocks: project risks or potential risks

STEP

Write down the items you can think of and share them with your team

While looking back on the sprint, each team member writes out the items that come to mind and displays them in the appropriate places on the illustration. and share it within the team.

STEP

Decide on items and discuss

The team votes on which items to improve in the next sprint. Discuss how to improve them in the next sprint.

starfish

Starfish is a retrospective method that uses a five-point thinking framework using a starfish diagram.

Starfish framework

Keep doing: something your team is doing well and appreciates
Less of: Things that are currently being done but want to be reduced
More of: Things that are currently being done but would like to do more
Stop doing: something worth quitting
Start doing: new ideas or new beginnings

STEP

Write down items that come to mind

Each team member reviews the sprint, writes down the items that come to mind, and displays them on the corresponding part of the starfish.

STEP

Team discussion on each category

Discuss each category as a team. After talking about the negative categories, what do you start with and end on a positive note?

three little pigs

It’s a retrospective method that uses a fun framework to retrospectively look at the three types of “houses” of the three little pigs in nursery rhymes.

Straw House: Instability and Things That Go Wrong

Tree House: Partially lacking robustness (still could be improved)

Brick House: What’s Working for the Team

STEP

Write down items that come to mind

Each team member reviews the sprint and writes down the items that come to mind and displays them in the corresponding place in the house of the three little pigs.

STEP

Team discussion on each category

Share within your team. The team votes on which items to improve in the next sprint. Discuss how to improve them in the next sprint.

speed car

Comparing the team to a racing car, Speed Car provides a visual representation of what is holding back and what is driving the team forward. Also think about how to celebrate when you cross the finish line.

Parachutes: what’s holding the team back
Electric cars: the driving force that keeps us going
Stop signs: what we need to stop
Finish line: what drives us and how to celebrate?

STEP

Write down items that come to mind

While looking back on the sprint, each team member writes out the items that come to mind and displays them in the appropriate places on the illustration. and share it within the team.

STEP

select items and discuss

In order to narrow down the items for discussion, a vote will be held to select a few items. The team then discusses and thinks about improvement items for the next sprint.

STEP

think of a celebration plan

Develop a celebration plan for how the team will celebrate achievements, such as improvements at the end.

Retrospective FAQ | Tell me Joe!

It tends to be retrospective and mere formality. What should I do?: SM is also a facilitator. Again, explain the purpose of the retrospective to the team. Also, there are many methods, so please try to change the method from time to time and make it a fun retrospective that feels like a game!
Who Should Attend a Retrospective?: Ideally, all team members should participate. If there are members who cannot participate, it is also possible to hold the meeting centered on the developers who are most involved in “process”, “technology” and “team”. But we also need activities that promote psychological safety so that everyone can participate.
Please advise retrospective caveats!: A Harvard study proves that increasing team happiness leads to improved speed. I have experienced many times that speeding up when team members are happy.
Psychological safety is very important in making Agile work. Once in a while, think about the happiness and refreshment of your team members.

Retrospective recommended tools

We’ve shown you a few techniques, and there are great tools to do them online.
Here you can easily use 35 techniques.

Recommended tools for retrospectives

Retrospective Summary

I introduced several methods, but the only difference was the way they were presented, but the purpose of looking back on “what went well” and “what didn’t go well” was almost the same.

Remember, retrospectives are always positive conversations.

We tend to focus on what went wrong, but remember that all team members celebrate successes and share happiness. Sometimes, how can “improvement” extend happiness? It’s okay from that point of view.

Please do a positive retrospective while incorporating new techniques.

What is Retrospective in Agile Development? Examples of methods and ways of doing things