DZone
Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile
  • Manage Email Subscriptions
  • How to Post to DZone
  • Article Submission Guidelines
Sign Out View Profile
  • Post an Article
  • Manage My Drafts
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone.
Log In / Join
Refcards Trend Reports
Events Video Library
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone. Join Today! Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile Manage Email Subscriptions Moderation Admin Console How to Post to DZone Article Submission Guidelines
View Profile
Sign Out
Refcards
Trend Reports
Events
View Events Video Library
Zones
Culture and Methodologies Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
Culture and Methodologies
Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering
AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture
Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding
Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance
Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks

Integrating PostgreSQL Databases with ANF: Join this workshop to learn how to create a PostgreSQL server using Instaclustr’s managed service

Mobile Database Essentials: Assess data needs, storage requirements, and more when leveraging databases for cloud and edge applications.

Monitoring and Observability for LLMs: Datadog and Google Cloud discuss how to achieve optimal AI model performance.

Automated Testing: The latest on architecture, TDD, and the benefits of AI and low-code tools.

Related

  • Deploy a Session Recording Solution Using Ansible and Audit Your Bastion Host
  • CockroachDB TIL: Volume 11
  • A Hybrid Approach to Continuous Application Authorization
  • Conducting Sprint Retrospective Meetings

Trending

  • How to Submit a Post to DZone
  • Spring Authentication With MetaMask
  • Log Analysis Using grep
  • TDD With FastAPI Is Easy

How to Run a Positive Retrospective (And Avoid a Gripe Session)

If you want your retrospectives to be effective, you need to make them positive experiences.

Steve Rogalsky user avatar by
Steve Rogalsky
·
Jul. 10, 19 · Opinion
Like (5)
Save
Tweet
Share
26.94K Views

Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free

Image title

It's hard to learn without a positive outlook.

A few times recently, I've been asked about retrospectives -- specifically how to keep them from becoming a gripe session. Here are a few things that I've found effective:

1. Start with the positive 

While we certainly want to talk about and address any issues, I like to talk about the positive things that have occurred during the last period before we delve into things we might want to change. I haven't yet been involved in a retrospective where the list of positive things wasn't long. This helps set the tone for the rest of the retrospective.

2. Wording matters 

I still have strong memories of watching Linda Rising run a retrospective for the Agile Vancouver organizing team in 2010. The words she chose as facilitator were powerful in keeping the retrospective positive yet useful. Instead of writing down "what went well", participants were asked to complete the phrase "it was great because..." (see the full quote and story at the link above). Instead of writing down "what didn't go well", they were reminded that no process is perfect and to write down "what they would do differently the next time". This simple re-wording of the phrases is powerful.

3. Every voice is heard 

If you've met me in person or even just through my blog, you probably know my passion for silent brainstorming. Generating in silence and discussing out loud isn't just a great way to get more ideas on the table, it is also a fantastic way to make sure every voice is heard. We've all been at retrospectives where one or more people with loud voices carry the conversation and the ideas. That isn't fun and doesn't encourage a positive atmosphere.

4. Build up Trust 

Using the 3 things above have shown themselves to be important in building up trust but sometimes you need to go a little farther. With new teams I've found that walking through Norm Kerth's prime directive can be a helpful way to eliminate blame from the discssion. They don't even have to believe the prime directive is true, they just have to act as if it is true for the period of the retrospective. I have found this pattern to be important to building up trust over time.

5. Do the (small) change

Finally, the point of all of this is to find ways to improve. If your team is having positive discussions about change and then doesn't follow through, the retrospectives become a waste of time. One simple way to make sure the change happens is to put the action items into your backlog and then start off the next retrospective by reviewing them to see if they were done and if they were helpful.

All the best in making your retrospectives more powerful by making them a positive experience. Feel free to add your tips in the comments.

Originally published October 2013

Further reading

Putting the Power of Positivity to Work at Work

How to Keep Scrum Positive

retrospective Session (web analytics)

Published at DZone with permission of Steve Rogalsky, DZone MVB. See the original article here.

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Related

  • Deploy a Session Recording Solution Using Ansible and Audit Your Bastion Host
  • CockroachDB TIL: Volume 11
  • A Hybrid Approach to Continuous Application Authorization
  • Conducting Sprint Retrospective Meetings

Comments

Partner Resources

X

ABOUT US

  • About DZone
  • Send feedback
  • Careers
  • Sitemap

ADVERTISE

  • Advertise with DZone

CONTRIBUTE ON DZONE

  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Become a Contributor
  • Visit the Writers' Zone

LEGAL

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

CONTACT US

  • 3343 Perimeter Hill Drive
  • Suite 100
  • Nashville, TN 37211
  • support@dzone.com

Let's be friends: