Retrospective: Appreciations

As mentioned in the Scrum Guide, the Sprint Retrospective is the chance for the Scrum Teams to inspect itself and create a plan for improvements.

As a Scrum Master, it is very important to vary your retrospective techniques. Chances are that the team will get bored very easily if you ask the same questions again and again like, "What worked and what didn't work”?

I have tried different techniques in the past like Value-driven retro, Mood Boards and Anonymous Surveys. Each technique has its own advantages but I would like to share my experience and findings of a retrospective recently conducted by me called “Appreciative Retrospective”.

Appreciative Retrospective is all (mostly) about discussing the positive aspects of individuals working in the team. Let team members appreciate each other and end positively.

Why use this:

• Studies prove that positivity in teams leads to high performance.
• It creates a great culture in the team.
• To openly remind everyone in the team that they’re doing a good job.

When to use:

• This approach can be especially useful for teams that have experienced several iteration/sprint.

Set the Stage:

• Welcome the team members.
• Brief the team about the goal and out comings of this ceremony.
• Make sure that everyone should maintain an environment of respect and truthfulness.

How to do it:

• Gather in some meeting hall or any other place, wherever the team likes.
• To proceed, ask any team member to volunteer and sit in front of the team. (Scrum Master or Product Owner can also volunteer to kick off the meeting).
• Ask each member of the team to write a couple of lines in appreciation of the center chair-person e.g. when and where we liked your work/efforts or anything else.
• Also, mention at least one point which you would like in the person to continue in the future (This will be an action item for the person to continue doing in upcoming sprints).
• Repeat the same for all team members.
• After completing the round you as a Scrum Master can ask the team collectively “What did we do well? Or what worked for us as a team?” in the last sprint/sprints. This will serve the purpose of appreciation for the team as a whole.

Closing:

• Strong points can be taken as action items to continue for upcoming sprints.
• Ask the team for their feedback on the Retrospective and things they liked or disliked.
• Appreciation changes the team’s internal environment, energy and mood. It’s the duty of the Scrum Master and the Product Owner to appreciate the efforts of the team collectively as well as individually.
• You should start each Scrum ceremony with some appreciative words for the team and I really believe this retrospective technique is very easy to use but its impacts are immaculate.