Ingredients for a successful Retrospective

Over the years I have had the opportunity to conduct many Retrospectives and lessons learned sessions.  Admittedly, some have went extremely well.... and others were lacking the original zest or spirit of the ceremony.  At times the meetings were perceived as punishment rather than opportunities to improve.  None-the-less we as a group pushed forward, looking for topics to highlight and possibly squeeze out some beacon of light to reassure us we were doing the right thing.

I have made a point to express my gratitude for the concept of Retrospectives.  The ceremony itself should not be taken for granted.  I have worked at several other companies where the primary focus rested soled on the term productivity.  Although I am not diminishing the the importance of velocity within the workplace, I am excited to see a company invest in itself and its employees by setting aside time for everyone to look at ways to improve.  It is for this reason, I have taken this event so personally.  If someone was going to invest time in me and my work, then I want going to take advantage of it.

Throughout this journey I have since discovered monotony and retro fatigue is a universal problem.  Many coaches struggle with finding creative ways to keep their teams engaged and the retrospective successful.  I have found a few universal themes that should be considered to combat a disastrous event.

• Time box the event.  Preferably 60 minutes max.  However if you do not need the entire time call an end to the meeting.
• Have an agenda advertised.  Issues do not magically appear the day of a Retrospective.  Make the retro agenda a dynamic list everyone can engage at any time. Sometimes there are surprises, though often the subject has at least some notion of where things are not going great.  This will help stimulate collaboration and remove selective amnesia on the day of the retro.
• Turn the computers off.  Removing distractions from the meeting will assist in keeping everyone focused on the discussion.  I am a strong advocate of collaboration.  There are several proven techniques to encourage collaboration and ensure even the most introverted disposition has a voice.
• Solicit feedback regarding the coaches performance.  Recently I had the opportunity to participate in my own Personal Retrospective to evaluate current performance as an Agile Project Manager and Coach.  It was humbling to hear coworkers who I respect greatly speak both positively and critically of my role.  In the end though, I was appreciative of the feedback as it worked to quiet the distracting internal voice of insecurity and help me focus on the team members perspective. Additionally, it helped me understand where I have been dropping the ball, along with recommendations on how to get on the right track.

The benefits of dividing a project into phases

I ran across a SlideShare presentation highlighting the art of storytelling within UI/UX development. Although the presentation was structured on storytelling, it reminded of the importance of dividing our projects into phases in order to better facilitate a workflow. By setting up smaller defined iteration cycles (aka phases), you promote transparency, the opportunity for constructive critiques and an overall environment for everyone to excel.

No matter whether you are building a small webpage for an upcoming event or a complex architectural software redesign, all designs goes through the critical phases of conceptual design, design development, implementation and refinement. Whenever entering a project be mindful your enthusiasm doesn't cause you to skip one of these critical milestones. The distinct differences between each phase allow for constructive critiques and feature sign off.

The precise idiosyncrasy of engineers have a tendency to make exact calculations every time they are faced with a problem. Designers will encourage iterations allowing multiple opportunities for mistakes or flaws in the design to present themselves. Sometimes it is difficult to identify the engineers from the software designers when you work at a software company. By identifying realistic goals and shorter iteration cycles we can provide the framework for everyone to flourish within an Agile environment. We should be looking for ways to create an environment for both dispositions to shine.

Credit to Anna Dahlstrom for the slides:  http://www.slideshare.net/annadahlstrom/designing-around-storytelling-digital-pond-london-06-feb-2014

Performance Reviews

Performance reviews tend to be a very tricky endeavor for most organizations. Recently our development group has started embracing the attitude "performance reviews are not helpful, feedback is".

Several examples have been highlighted as out conversation has evolved to reflect the disposition of our development group. They are:

http://www.jrothman.com/blog/mpd/2014/01/performance-reviews-are-not-useful-feedback-is.html

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140206114808-15893932-how-adobe-got-rid-of-traditional-performance-reviews?trk=object-title&_mSplash=1

As we look to understand effective ways to conduct "reviews" the theme that has evolve can be summarized best as, "Don't get rid of performance reviews; do them all the time and let teammates own their job role."