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Scrum Retrospectives

Understanding Retrospectives in Scrum

Detailed examination of Scrum Retrospectives. Understand the purpose of Retrospectives, how to conduct effective Retrospectives and how to deal with common challenges and issues.
5 minutes 5 Questions

The Scrum Retrospective is a critical event in the Scrum framework that occurs at the end of each Sprint. It provides the Scrum Team with a dedicated opportunity to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements to be enacted during the next Sprint. Time-boxed to a maximum of three hours for a …

Concepts covered: Facilitation Skills, Team Collaboration, Five Stages of a Retrospective, Follow-up on Previous Retrospective, Feedback Loops, Psychological Safety, Retrospective Techniques, Inspect and Adapt, Action Items, Kaizen, Continuous Improvement

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PSM I - Scrum Retrospectives Example Questions

Test your knowledge of Scrum Retrospectives

Question 1

Your Scrum team identifies a new user story during the sprint. What should be the team's approach to inspect and adapt?

Correct Answer: Collaborate with the Product Owner to evaluate the new user story for potential inclusion in a future sprint backlog.

The correct approach when a new user story is identified during a sprint is to collaborate with the Product Owner to assess its importance and decide if it should be added to the product backlog for consideration in future sprints. It's not appropriate to unilaterally add it to the current or future sprints without discussion, nor should the team reprioritize ongoing work without consulting the Product Owner. Discussing the new user story during the sprint review is not the right forum as the sprint review is meant for inspecting the increment and adapting the product backlog if needed, not for backlog refinement activities.

Question 2

During retrospectives, one of your team members, Bob, consistently blames others for the failures. What should you, as a Scrum Master, do to maintain Psychological Safety?

Correct Answer: Discuss with Bob privately about the impact of his behavior on team dynamics and encourage him to share feedback in a more constructive manner.

The correct answer involves directly addressing the disruptive behavior in a private and constructive manner, which helps maintain psychological safety. The first wrong answer attempts to indirectly solve the problem through rule implementation, which may suppress open dialogue rather than encourage constructive feedback. The second wrong answer might escalate the issue by giving it a formal platform, potentially worsening the psychological safety. The third wrong answer, while potentially beneficial for long-term team development, does not directly address the immediate issue with Bob's behavior in retrospectives.

Question 3

In the Sprint Retrospective, one team member, Alex, raises a highly critical feedback concerning the entire team's performance. The team seems visibly offended and defensive. As a Scrum Master, how would you ensure psychological safety in this scenario?

Correct Answer: Encourage team members to focus on specifics of the feedback rather than taking it personally, and brainstorm actionable steps for improvement.

The correct approach emphasizes the importance of addressing feedback constructively, ensuring the team does not take it personally but instead uses it as a growth opportunity. Redirecting the conversation or avoiding the feedback creates an environment where issues are not resolved, directly affecting team progress and morale. Voting on the feedback's validity could further divide the team and does not encourage an atmosphere of openness and improvement. Developing new team agreements to avoid criticism does not ensure psychological safety; instead, it might stifle honest feedback, which is crucial for a team's development and success.

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