Running team retrospectives and learning reviews

Skills you'll practise

• Explain the purpose of a retrospective and choose a sensible cadence and timebox for a team
• Plan a retrospective using the five stages: set the stage, gather data, generate insights, decide what to do, close
• Use facilitation techniques that get input from quieter team members
• Turn retrospective findings into one to three specific actions, each with an owner, a date and a check
• Run an after-action review for a one-off event using its core questions
• Keep reviews blameless while routing misconduct or safety concerns to the right process

Course outline

1. 1.Running team retrospectives and learning reviewsVideo · 3 min
2. 2.Why retrospectives, and how oftenLesson · 12 min
3. 3.Running the meetingLesson · 14 min
4. 4.From insight to actionLesson · 12 min
5. 5.After-action reviews for one-off eventsLesson · 12 min
6. 6.Running team retrospectives and learning reviews: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 20 questions
7. 7.Running team retrospectives and learning reviews: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
8. 8.The retro after peak weekScenario
9. 9.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out

Sources it draws on

The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.

• The Scrum Guide (2020), Sprint Retrospective section, Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland
• Esther Derby and Diana Larsen, Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great (Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2006), five-stage structure
• US Army TC 25-20, A Leader's Guide to After-Action Reviews (September 1993), archived copy
• General people-leadership practice for team leads and managers