retrospective

Agile as a learning system, not a delivery framework

Agile is often described as a way to deliver work faster.

That is not wrong, but it is incomplete.

At its best, Agile is not simply a delivery framework. It is a learning system. It helps teams discover what is true, what is valuable, what is possible and what needs to change.

Scrum events as Cynefin domain transitions

One helpful way to look at Scrum is to see its events not just as meetings, but as transitions between domains of work.

That is where Cynefin becomes practical.

A team does not stay in one domain all the time. It moves between uncertainty, analysis, action and reflection. Scrum creates a rhythm for doing that well.

Retrospective idea: Sailboat

Blue and white sailboat on ocean during daytime — Photo by Evan Smogor on Unsplash

The sailboat retrospective is a model that I especially like to use at the end of significant chunks of work, like a release or the end of an epic or the end of a project. But it could be used at any time, especially if there is a need to better understand project objectives, risks, hindrances and helpers.

I like to use this model for post release retrospectives because it helps the team to focus on lessons learned around unexpected risks, the things that slowed the team down and celebrate the things had really helped us.

Retrospective idea: one-word

A simple retrospective exercise I like to use is the ‘one-word retrospective’ found in Getting Value out of Agile Retrospectives by Luis Gonçalves and Ben Linders. This exercise is particularly useful for helping teams deal with their feelings.

Simply ask every team member to summarize in one word how they felt about the last sprint.

Retrospective idea: starfish

Just as a workman wouldn’t rely on the same tool for every job (unless they have some kind of massive Swiss Army tool), it can be useful for Scrum teams to have a few different retrospective models to draw on. Different approaches help teams to see things from different perspectives.

The starfish retrospective is an extension of the typical three-question retrospective of what went well? what didn’t go well? what could be improved? By asking similar but different questions it can help a team appreciate the practices that are going well as well as consider new ideas. I know scrum masters for whom this is their default retrospective pattern.