Retrospective

September 2, 2025
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What is a Retrospective?

A retrospective is a structured meeting held at the end of a project phase, sprint, or development cycle. It allows a team to reflect on their work, discuss successes and challenges, and identify areas for improvement. In project management, teams most commonly use retrospectives in Agile environments; however, they also employ them in other settings to support continuous learning and enhance performance.

This process encourages open communication, fosters accountability, and promotes collaboration. The goal is not to assign blame but to understand what worked well and what could be improved. By holding regular retrospectives, teams can adapt their workflows and strengthen team dynamics over time.

Retrospectives typically follow a format that includes reviewing the objectives, examining what happened, and creating action items for future improvements. Depending on the team structure, the Scrum Master, project manager, or team lead may facilitate the retrospective.

Key Points

  • A retrospective is a recurring meeting designed to reflect on completed work and improve future outcomes.
  • It supports a culture of transparency, learning, and continuous improvement.
  • The format often includes discussing what went well, what didn’t, and how to improve.
  • Teams develop action items to implement changes before the next work cycle begins.
  • Participation from all team members is essential for a balanced and effective discussion.

Related Terms

  • A sprint review focuses on the product increment, whereas a retrospective addresses the process and team performance.
  • The Scrum Master often facilitates the retrospective to ensure productive and respectful dialogue.
  • Continuous improvement is a core principle supported through regular retrospectives.
  • A lessons-learned session shares similarities with a retrospective, but is typically held at the end of a full project, rather than after each cycle.
  • The Agile methodology relies heavily on retrospectives to drive team adaptation and performance growth.

Retrospective: Example

At the end of a two-week sprint, a software development team holds a retrospective. The team discusses how effectively they communicated, whether they met their sprint goals, and which obstacles affected their progress. One issue raised is unclear task assignments, so they decided to implement a shared task board in the next sprint to improve visibility and clarity. The team documents action items and assigns follow-ups before ending the meeting.

Retrospective: Best Practices

  • Schedule retrospectives consistently at the end of each cycle or milestone to ensure consistency and effectiveness.
  • Create a safe, respectful space where team members feel comfortable sharing.
  • Use a structured format to guide discussion and keep the session focused.
  • Document insights and action items clearly and follow up on progress.
  • Continuously adapt the format to meet the evolving needs of the team.

Additional Resources

Retrospective - Agile Retrospectives, Second Edition: A Practical Guide for Catalyzing Team Learning and Improvement      Retrospective - Improving Agile Retrospectives: Helping Teams Become More Efficient

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