Sprint Retrospective:
Retrospectives are turning out to be a necessity in the software development world lately.
Retrospectives are mean to identify and highlight the achievements and discover the challenges in a team. Just like the way we need continuous feedback for our products to improve each day, in a similar fashion, retrospective plays an important part in creating great teams.
The Retrospective is a platform for the teams through which a team can review their own work.
Retrospectives should not be misunderstood or misused to point out the mistakes or an individual or a whole team as this can negatively impact the team's performance and morale.
Also, considering the participants of a retrospective, if the team's members aren't matured enough then they might not feel comfortable in bringing points in front of a senior.
>>>There are 3 key aspects on which Retrospectives should be focused on, namely:
1- Processes
2- Product
3- Environment
These 3 are the basis of identifying the opportunities and the challenges within a team during a retrospective.
>>>Below are a few techniques for conducting retrospectives.
1- Recurring Retrospectives:
Recurring Retrospectives are performed after the end of a sprint.
The whole team sits together and pens down the retro points followed by a discussion and defining the action items on the key points by following techniques like "Went well / Did not go well / Things to try".
2- Continuous Retrospectives:
This one is more effective than recurring retrospectives as it covers more ground.
In this, the whole team pins down points as they encounter them during the sprint instead of just sitting together at the end of the sprint.
In Continuous Retrospectives, every team member puts their thoughts in real time and ensures that nobody spends time thinking and dwelling on the past to write the retrospective items.