Helpful Tips for Your Scrum Retrospective

The Scrum Retrospective is a mandatory event described in the Scrum Guide for the agile project management framework Scrum. The goal in the retrospective is to reflect on what was experienced (from the last sprint). Based on this, improvement measures are sought that can be implemented directly in your next scrum sprint.

Step by Step to a Successful Scrum Sprint

Step 1: Set the Stage – creating the framework for a good retrospective
In this first step, it is important that all participants can initially arrive and feel comfortable. It is important that there is a good atmosphere and that everyone has something to say at the beginning of the Scrum Retrospective. This also increases the motivation of the team to discuss more.

Step 2: Gather Data – Diverging Information in the System
The second step of a Scrum Retrospective is about gathering data from the last Sprint. The emphasis is on quantity and the focus is on facts. A selection and evaluation take place later. In the process, you analyze your specific experiences.

Step 3: Generate Insights
The third step of a retrospective uses the second step to generate deeper insights about the experience. Really good insights are the key to deciding on implementation in the next step.

Step 4: Decide What To Do
In the fourth step, you think about the concrete implementation from your Scrum Retrospective. This step is very important because if you don’t define actions in the Scrum Retrospective, continuous improvement is of no use to you.

Step 5: Close The Retrospective
A retrospective in Scrum should also be closed. This is important to show respect for everyone’s work and time. A brief reflection on the format is also helpful. This step can be kept short, but should not be skipped.

More Tips for the Retrospective

• Working Agreement
  Together with the team, define a set of rules that everyone will abide by. Do you already have a working agreement? Perfect, if not try to establish one!
• Wishes go to the backlog
  Tasks for continuous improvement belong in the backlog. Each team should take a small improvement into the next sprint. Keep it transparent in the backlog.
• Focus on positives
  Use “Set The Stage” and other impulses to focus the retrospective on positive improvements. Ask your team: how can we maintain and improve these?
• Focus on Sprint
  In the retrospective you should – as usual – keep a clear focus. You always look at the last sprint and look ahead to the next sprint. No more and no less!

Did you know that you can also use scrum in your everyday life? Check out our blogpost SCRUM IN EVERYDAY LIFE!