Why Your Team Needs Retrospective Meetings & How To Run Them

Meetings are crucial to the effectiveness of every team. You see, without meetings, there would be no communication; without communication, the team will not be aligned. Everything ends up messy. 

For Agile teams, a retrospective meeting is one of the most important keys to growth. It’s a time to reflect on a past project, gather insights and use the data to promote constant improvement. 

As Thomas S. Monsoon puts it, “The past is behind, learn from it. The future is ahead, prepare for it. The present is here, live it.”

This article will explore the whats, whys, and hows of retrospective meetings. 

Need help creating a team retrospective workflow? Watch the video below!

What is a Retrospective Meeting?

A retrospective meeting is a structured meeting where teams reflect on completed projects. During this meeting, participants get to highlight the successes and failures of the project. They also identify aspects that require improvement.

For agile teams, this meeting holds after a product has shipped. The team discusses what happened during the product’s development and release phase. They also consider what went well and what could be improved. 

At the end of the retro, the team takes these learnings and implements them during the next product development cycle - improving both their output quality and work culture.

Wondering who is responsible for retrospective meetings?

The Scrum Master typically runs a sprint retrospective meeting. Attendees include the product owner, the development team, and the Scrum Master. For Agile teams, any of the team members can facilitate the meeting. By taking turns to facilitate the retro, the team will have renewed activity choices and won’t slide into a boring routine.

Start using Assembly’s Retrospective template now, or book a demo today to learn more.

Why Do You Have Retrospective Meetings?

There are different reasons why you have retrospective meetings. The major ones are:

• To discover and fix issues early in the product development cycle. 

Having your team share challenges and successes in a transparent manner helps them identify potential issues in the production and project management processes. These can then be fixed before kicking off the next product design cycle. 

• To foster a safe, transparent environment. 

A well-executed retro encourages each team member to share their thoughts on how the project went. Being able to share suggestions and viewpoints, give feedback, discuss success stories, and brainstorm solutions will make them feel heard, like their ideas will be taken seriously. It’s a great way to boost trust, confidence, and team spirit.

• To help the team learn and grow. 

To become a high-performing team, every member needs to improve and learn to adapt. Your job as a team leader is to give everyone the support they need to grow and develop with each project. Having a retrospecting meeting is one way to achieve that. It is an excellent opportunity to identify aspects of the project where the entire team needs to improve. 

• To set better expectations. 

Some projects appear easy at first. Leading to unrealistic expectations. Eventually, you discover that you and your team have bitten off more than you can chew. But, you push through and deliver. Great job! How do you ensure this does not happen again? Retros. 

A retrospective meeting is a perfect time to recap the entire cycle and figure out better ways to manage expectations and set more realistic timeframes and capabilities. You’ll also be able to assess external pressures that affect your output.

What is the main goal of a retrospective meeting?

The goal is to reflect on the past to improve future outcomes. Retros help teams inspect past situations and adapt their outcomes to future realities. 

Retrospective meetings are only useful when they can improve the planning and structure for future projects. You’re able to get actionable data on your team - how well they work together, what aspects they struggle with, how you can help them become more effective, and how much they can achieve within a certain period. Armed with this info, you can now plan your next project.

When Should You Have a Retrospective Meeting?

Timing is essential to the effectiveness of every meeting. For retrospectives, it’s important that the team have some time to breathe after the end of a project. On the other hand, you should not leave it off for too long that they struggle to remember important details. 

Retrospectives should typically hold about five to seven days after the project ends. This gives the team enough time to settle down and gather their thoughts.

So, now that you’ve booked the meeting, how long should a retrospective last?

Typically, 3 hours. This timing works best for one-month Sprints. For shorter projects, a 30-minute to 1-hour retro works. You can also choose to dedicate 30 minutes weekly to review the project’s progress. 

How Do You End a Retrospective?

To be effective, a retrospective must end right. Each participant needs to leave the meeting feeling good and confident - like they’ve achieved something and are sure of the next steps. Tailoring it with a sprint retrospective meeting agenda will ensure that the meeting ends with:

1. A clear summary of the last project
2. A solid action plan that is divided into smaller, clear assigned tasks and set deadlines.
3. A detailed follow-up process with plans for feedback and measuring results.
4. A set date for the next retro meeting.

It is also important to get feedback on the retrospective meeting. This will help you find ways to keep improving it. 

What is The Difference Between Sprint Reviews and Sprint Retrospectives?

While Sprint retrospectives focus on the process of the project, a Sprint review focuses on assessing the product itself. The goal of a Sprint review is to analyze a product’s progress and its likely completion date. It typically happens before the Sprint retrospective.

A Sprint review aims to maximize and optimize the product’s value. On the other hand, a Sprint retrospective focuses on the processes, the tools used, and the people involved in the product development cycle. A retrospective is the last meeting of each cycle or sprint.

Keep in mind that the purpose of a retrospective is to improve. So don't show up expecting that you've got things all figured out. Take your time to think over the results, consider everything people have to say, and try to find solutions to what you've learned through retrospectives. 

Make Your Team Better With Retrospectives

The bottom line is that using retrospectives to learn from your mistakes and improve your team's performance will pay huge dividends in the long run. So if you don't already have regular retrospective meetings, consider running one now! And if you need help, check out Assembly’s Team Retrospective Template!