Learn Scrum Retrospectives (PSM I) with Interactive Flashcards
Master key concepts in Scrum Retrospectives through our interactive flashcard system. Click on each card to reveal detailed explanations and enhance your understanding.
Retrospective Techniques
Retrospective Techniques refer to the various approaches that can be used during a Retrospective meeting, to facilitate conversation and discovery. These can include techniques such as 'Start, Stop, Continue', 'Mad, Sad, Glad', and 'Sail Boat' among others. These serve as tools to explore what went well, and what could be improved, in a structured and engaging way.
Inspect and Adapt
Inspect and Adapt is a cornerstone of Scrum. This principle implies that Scrum Teams should continually be inspecting their performance and adjusting accordingly. Retrospectives are the specific Scrum event designed for this purpose. By regularly examining the process and adjusting where necessary, the team can continually improve and become more effective.
Continuous Improvement
Continuous Improvement is a central philosophy of Scrum and Agile practices. This concept prompts Scrum teams to constantly seek ways they can improve their processes, communication, and output. Retrospectives are the main event for identifying areas of improvement, analyzing them, and coming up with a plan for improvements in the next sprint.
Team Collaboration
Team collaboration is critical to the success of a Scrum Team. Sprint Retrospectives provide an opportunity for the team to collaborate on discussions and decisions about improving their way of working together. This encourages self-organization, a key pillar of Scrum, and empowers team members to identify and solve their own problems, leading to increased engagement and productivity.
Kaizen
Kaizen, a Japanese term meaning 'good change', represents a core concept of continuous, incremental improvement. Within the context of Scrum and retrospectives, Kaizen encourages teams to consistently look for ways to enhance performance, efficiency and work environment. During retrospectives, teams leverage the principle of Kaizen to identify small, manageable improvement actions for the next sprint. By fostering a culture of regular reflection and improvement, Kaizen helps to optimize workflow, productivity, and satisfaction within Scrum teams.
Five Stages of a Retrospective
The Five Stages of a Retrospective, as defined by Derby and Larsen in their book 'Agile Retrospectives', provide a structured approach to conducting effective retrospectives. The stages: Set the Stage, Gather Data, Generate Insights, Decide What to Do, Close the Retrospective guide the team through the retrospective meeting, facilitating conversation, collaboration, and action-oriented outcomes. Each stage serves a unique purpose, encouraging participants to share, reflect, discuss, and align on improvements for the next iteration.
Psychological Safety
The concept of Psychological Safety, defined as a shared belief that it is safe to take interpersonal risk within the team, plays a vital role in Scrum and retrospectives. It ensures that team members feel comfortable sharing their opinions, concerns, ideas, and failures without fear of humiliation or blame. During retrospectives, psychological safety enables an open, honest dialogue, encouraging teams to identify their weaknesses, celebrate success, and work towards improvements.
Facilitation Skills
Facilitation Skills are crucial for leading effective retrospectives. This concept refers to the techniques and practices a Scrum Master uses to guide a conversation, ensure fair participation, and help a team reach their desired outcomes. It involves solid preparation, effective question asking, active listening, managing conflicts, and summarizing discussions for action planning. Good facilitation skills can make the difference between a successful and a less successful retrospective, contributing to the overall effectiveness of the Scrum process.
Feedback Loops
Feedback Loops in a Scrum Retrospective are about consistently checking the results of actions and decisions made by the team during the sprint and using the observations to inform subsequent decisions. This iterative approach towards feedback enables teams to learn from their mistakes, adapt solutions, and continuously improve their processes. Feedback loops also promote the creation of a culture that values transparency and learning.
Action Items
Action Items are key outcomes from the retrospective meeting. These are tasks or actions which the team agrees on to implement in the following sprint with an aim to enhance their performance. They are based on learnings from the retrospective, which can be about any aspect of the sprint, such as what went well, what could be improved, and any changes that need to be made. Teams take responsibility for these items and put efforts towards their implementation.
Follow-up on Previous Retrospective
Follow-up on Previous Retrospective means actively reviewing the action items agreed during the last retrospective and discussing the results. It involves assessing whether the actions have been implemented, how they worked, and what changes they brought about. Following up is paramount for drawing out the value from retrospectives as it strengthens the culture of accountability, continual feedback, and ensures concrete strides towards improvement.
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