Retrospection can be conducted at various levels :
- Product retrospection : Whats working well with the product and which features need to improved
- Process retrospection : Typically in a Scrum Sprint, this focuses on what ( processes ) the team executed well, what can be done better etc
- Personal retrospection : Highlighting an individual's strength and areas to improve upon
However there are many influencing factors which contribute to the success of it :
- Emotional Safety : The team needs to feel empowered to provide ideas and the confidence that their ideas will not have any side effects
- Timing : I heard someone state that he/she performs retrospection every week. This would be so draining and boring for the team. Over a period of time, it would become a drag and done just for the sake of it
- Clarity : Usually the type of retrospection is not clarified at the outset, so the team provides inputs on random areas ( ranging from process to product ) which loses the focus
- Equality : If a retrospection is such that people blurt out ideas and the loudest voice is heard, it doesn't do justice to members who are not as vocal. Everyone should have a turn and be given a fair chance to be heard.
- Follow up : Conducting a retrospection is one thing and taking action on it is another thing. If the team realizes that nothing is being done even they provide great tangible ideas, who would be willing to invest time and effort in it again ?
As the product or organization matures, retrospection becomes a very effective tool to get inputs from teams on a large scale and for the executives to have insights even from the core execution level. There are tons of templates available but if the ideas / human potential is not tapped in then the fancy templates will be of no use.
