Agile
retrospectives for continuous improvement
An agile
retrospectives is an opportunity for agile development teams to reflect on
past work together and identify ways to improve. Agile teams hold retrospective
meetings after a time-boxed period of work is complete (typically a sprint lasting
two to four weeks). During the agile retrospective, the team discusses what
went well, what did not go as planned, and how to make the next work period
better.
Even if you
are not on a development team, you can probably relate to the concept of
retrospection. Have you ever worked hard on something only to realize later
that you should have done it differently? It is not always a good feeling, but
the solutions you uncover in hindsight can be valuable input for your next try.
The same goes for your successes — acknowledging what went well and is worth
repeating can be just as impactful.
What is
an agile retrospective?
In short, an
agile retrospective is a meeting that happens at the end of an agile
development iteration. Team members share their highlights, challenges, and
learnings from the last cycle. This helps teams apply these lessons later —
easing up future work.
Agile
retrospectives (also called scrum or sprint retrospectives) are closely
tied to scrum methodology. Retrospective meetings originated as one of the
official scrum ceremonies. In scrum, agile retrospectives include the
entire scrum team (comprised of a scrum master, product owner, and
developers) and often product managers as well.
Regardless
of your chosen agile methodology, most agile teams approach retrospective
meetings in a similar way. The details will vary but the purpose of the agile
retrospective is the same — to reflect on past work and potential improvements.
This guide will primarily focus on agile retrospectives through the lens of
scrum, but any team can apply these practices to retrospective meetings.
Why are
agile retrospectives important?
The twelfth
principle of the Agile manifesto states: "At regular intervals,
the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behaviour
accordingly."
Agile
retrospectives put this philosophy into practice — helping to ensure that
issues that impede performance or productivity do not go unnoticed or
unaddressed. Holding these retrospective discussions at a regular cadence means
that problems can be resolved before the next period of work even begins.
Agile
retrospectives are also an opportunity for every voice to be heard. There is no
hierarchy in a retrospective meeting — everyone can contribute ideas,
vent frustrations, and help make decisions. This fosters deeper connection and
engagement.
Ultimately,
agile retrospectives underline what agile software development is all
about: promoting adaptive planning, incorporating feedback, and working in
increments. These concepts apply primarily to the development work itself, but
agile retrospectives also enable teams to apply these practices inwardly.
What do
teams discuss in agile retrospective meetings?
Discussion
items for retrospective meetings can either be technical or team-related. What
matters is that you discuss what is and is not working well. To do this, you
might ask the team which moments felt particularly productive and collaborative
— or where there were workflow gaps or misaligned expectations.
The most
important thing is to leave the retrospective meeting with actionable ways to
work better together. These action items should be simple, effective, and
easily doable within the next sprint.
The table
below provides a few examples of discussion topics and action items for an
agile retrospective:
Discussion Topic or Issue |
Action Item |
User stories were very clear and well-written. |
Keep using the new user story template. |
Team workshop on extensions was really beneficial. |
Schedule another workshop or learning opportunity
for the team. |
Several teammates struggled with the workload last
sprint. |
Revisit capacity estimates as a team. |
Scrum board layout is cluttered. It is difficult to
see priorities. |
Set aside time to clean up and reorganize the scrum
board in your development tool. |
Types of
agile retrospective workflows and techniques
Over time,
retrospectives can become stale and teams might find it more difficult to find
areas to improve. Seasoned agile teams may need a push to keep the momentum
going.
There are
several techniques to help you refresh your agile retrospectives. Here are some
of the most common conversation starters:
4 L's |
The 4 L's are Liked, Learned, Lacked, and Longed
For. This is a simple structure for examining positives and negatives — both
technical and team-related. |
Dot voting |
When there are too many discussion items to cover
in one retrospective, hold a team vote. With dot voting, everyone votes on
their top three discussion items — the results determine priority. The name
of this technique comes from in-person meetings and putting dots on paper
sticky notes. |
Lean coffee |
Lean coffee takes dot voting further. Instead of
the facilitator preparing the agenda ahead of time, the team determines the
agenda together using a simple kanban board. You brainstorm what to
discuss, prioritize items (typically by dot voting), and agree on the flow of
discussion. |
One word |
Participants share a single word to describe their
feelings or impression of the sprint. This is a low-pressure way to get
everyone participating from the start of the meeting. |
Past two months map |
The team creates a timeline of the last two months
with important events and call-outs. This sets the stage and helps refresh
everyone's memory at the beginning of the retrospective discussion. |
Sailboat |
Sailboat is a visualization tool that portrays the
sprint as a boat — rocks represent risks, anchors are delays, wind is what
propels you, and land is your ultimate goal. |
Start, Stop, Continue |
Simply put, this exercise frames the conversation
around what to start, stop, and continue doing based on goals and resources. |
Question cards |
The team uses a set of questions cantered around
the principles of the Agile Manifesto. You draw a question card to kickstart
the conversation. Examples include: "What is most important to you right
now?" and "What are you putting up with that needs to stop?" |
There are
more agile retrospective activities to try beyond this list. Research different
techniques, create your own, and switch up your approach from time to time to
help the team stay engaged.
Agile
retrospective best practices
Ideally,
agile retrospectives involve open and productive discussion — but this is not
always easy. Try these best practices to ensure that you create a positive
atmosphere for your meeting:
1. Set an expected duration and frequency Retrospectives
usually happen at the end of each sprint. Take 30 to 45 minutes per week of
sprint time with a maximum of three hours. If you hold a long retrospective,
make sure to take breaks.
2. Come prepared Choose a framework for the
discussion and set your agenda. Retrospective discussions can be fun and
low-key — but a solid structure will help you accomplish everything you need to
within the allotted time.
3. Choose a facilitator Designate a point
person to keep things moving. On scrum teams, the facilitator will typically be
the scrum master. But it is worth rotating the role of facilitator to introduce
new perspectives.
4. Keep it collaborative Everyone should
feel comfortable contributing (whether by speaking, writing, or voting). If
team members are hesitant to open up, try easing the tension with small talk,
games, or fun themes.
5. Encourage honesty Transparency is not
always easy in a team setting. Welcome a diverse range of opinions by remaining
objective, asking clarifying questions, and directing criticism towards work
and not individuals.
6. Promote shared responsibility Agile is a
collective effort. When things go wrong — or right — the whole team is
responsible. No one should feel singled out and recognition should be shared by
all.
7. Do not end the meeting without action
items By the end of the agile retrospective, the team should agree on at
least one new idea to implement in the next sprint.
8. Make meeting notes accessible Document,
save, and share insights with the team to help everyone stay informed and
accountable.
What is
an agile retrospective agenda?
Below is a
sample agenda for an agile retrospective to help you make the most of your
time. Meeting lengths will vary from team to team, but each segment of the
meeting should take roughly the same amount of time.
- Set the stage: Welcome
everyone to the meeting, go over the agenda, and introduce any discussion
techniques.
- Gather input: Discuss what
happened in the last sprint — considering both high and low points.
- Brainstorm ideas: Explore
ideas for overcoming any known issues. Consider the flip side, too —
recognize positive patterns to continue in future sprints.
- Pick solutions: Choose
action items to implement in the next sprint.
- Close: Recap key points of
the agile retrospective, summarize results, and share any notes with the
team.
Agile
retrospective notes template
Ready to get
started? Download our simple agile retrospective template to frame your
discussion. This template will help you structure your notes, document action
items, and run a productive retrospective meeting. And when you need to change
things up, explore more agile retrospective templates to spark
engaging conversations.
FAQs
about agile retrospectives
What kind
of team should do retrospectives?
Reflecting
on past work and identifying ways to improve is valuable for any type of team.
Though retrospectives are most commonly associated with scrum
teams — retros are the final scrum ceremony at the end of each
sprint.
What are
the benefits of retrospectives?
Holding
regular retrospectives helps the team stay accountable, address issues quickly,
and improve efficiency over time. Attendees of a retrospective meeting should
freely raise concerns and offer potential solutions — so the entire team
can make informed decisions about what to adjust for the next sprint.
Retrospectives are a valuable opportunity to embrace the agile
principles of adaptation, feedback, and incremental improvement.
Who
should facilitate an agile retrospective?
While anyone
on the team can lead a retrospective, the scrum master typically facilitates
the meeting on scrum teams. If you are responsible for overseeing an agile
retrospective, you can choose from a variety of frameworks and templets to
help guide the discussion. Ensure that everyone feels heard, respected, and
included.
How often
should retrospectives occur?
Retrospectives
usually occur at the end of each sprint. Depending on the methodology and
release cadence your team uses, you might hold a retrospective every two,
three, or four weeks. The length of the retrospective meeting itself will
depend on the duration of the sprint, whether any unexpected problems arose,
and team preferences. Most agile teams devote anywhere from 30 minutes to a few
hours for each session.
What is
the ideal outcome of a retrospective meeting?
By the end
of each agile retrospective meeting, the team should agree on a list of action
items to implement for the next sprint. Do your best to make every attendee
feel valued and heard. This way, everyone leaves the retrospective motivated
and focused on the upcoming work to be done.
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