Whether the team is moving on to the next phase of a project or has already completed work on it, it is important to learn from the experience and incorporate it into future work. Conducting a project retrospective helps do this.
The purpose of a sprint retrospective is to determine what went well, where problems arose, and to identify areas for improvement. Moreover, everyone knows that a project retrospective conducted by a professional team helps evaluate what works and what doesn’t, can improve Agile processes, and optimize the next sprint. Let's take a closer look.
What is a project retrospective?
Project retrospective is a tool from the Scrum project management methodology. This format of group discussion helps to understand what stage of the project’s life cycle is at, examine difficulties that have arisen in the past, and develop action plans that will help avoid difficulties in future work. The meeting takes place according to a structured plan and involves the participation of the entire team involved in the project. Using retrospective technology, team members look back, share their observations about failures and successes, and reflect on what could have been done differently. Particular attention at the meeting is paid to collecting information about what worked during the implementation of the project and what did not. In addition, participants share other information regarding the project that will be useful for future work. There is also a detailed and substantive analysis of problems that arose during the work, and measures to prevent them are determined. Let us add that project retrospectives are carried out when the project or its stage has already been completed, and team members can “disconnect” from production processes and objectively evaluate the results or preliminary results of joint work. We recommend accessing this tool at regular intervals throughout your collaboration—this will allow you to track changes in progress and make timely adjustments. At the end of the meeting, the team receives a clear set of goals for the next project or stage of work, and each employee understands their area of responsibility and the significance of their role for the overall result.
Why do people conduct a retrospective?
By identifying problems that arose during the project, the team receives information on how to avoid repeating the situation in the future. This means it increases its efficiency, reducing costs caused by complex and controversial situations. In addition, as a result of a project retrospective, the employee’s contribution becomes obvious and, if the manager can reward merit, then this works as a motivation tool. By sharing ideas about working together, team members also have the chance to strengthen business relationships, increase mutual understanding, and increase group productivity. Finally, for teams following agile project management methodologies, the retrospective becomes a source of information about what is happening with the project and what tasks require increased attention.
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How a retrospective can positively impact a project
The purpose of such meetings is to search and identify ways that will help the team improve, so criticizing the actions of employees for mistakes will have a detrimental effect on the desire to continue to invest in the business. At the same time, accusations are unacceptable not only from the manager but also from colleagues, so maintain the safety of the group discussion space by setting a constructive and mutually respectful tone of work. Retrospectives of projects should be conducted positively. To create the right environment, retrospective plans usually mean that the beginning of the meeting will be spent assessing the positives and successes achieved. It is possible that discussing difficulties will cause tension and discomfort for the team, acting as a demotivator, therefore, when opening the meeting, we recommend recognizing the contributions of team members and congratulating employees on new achievements, even if they seem not very expressive. Thus, the retrospective becomes not only an event at which mistakes will be recorded and plans to avoid them in the future are defined but also a means to boost employee morale. Project retrospective meetings help teams review the facts that had a significant impact on achieving or not achieving success. They strengthen a positive attitude towards future work since each participant understands what will be required of him in the future and what risks may arise. Finally, a project retrospective should be carried out regardless of the final indicators - any experience will be valuable for improvement purposes.
Remember that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.