I am on a quest to learn about retrospectives in real life. This time I am lucky enough to pick the brain of the leader of one of the strongest teams in the Atlassian ecosystem. Meet Matthias Gaiser, who is the product manager for K15t’s Backbone Issue Sync for Jira. I knew already, from my meeting with Anshuman Dash, that retros are big in K15t. so I was not surprised to hear a lot of wisdom from Matthias.
Every two weeks, The Backbone team of eight convenes to do a retrospective. Matthias has had thorough training in facilitation. Over time, he’s developed a solid way to do them. Chatting with him, it was clear that their retrospectives are practical, focused, and useful. Here are the key takeaways.
Retrospectives are about improving how we collaborate
Matthias emphasizes that retrospectives are distinct from review meetings. Review meetings are a chance to assess how a product is evolving. They also help us improve product management. Retros are not so much about the content of the work, but rather the way we execute. These will include topics like handing off tasks between team members, communication, the tools they use, and how they conduct meetings.
A collaborative, ongoing retro process
In this spirit, the retrospective itself is also a team effort. A Trello board is where everyone captures their shared retrospective experiences and conclusions. Matthias organized the board in retro-minded columns like:
- What went well.
- What needs to change.
- Discussion items.
At any moment, anyone can access the board and add an item to these columns. This acts as a continuous “gathering data” phase. Like this, nothing is forgotten at the crucial moment.
These three columns also are the framework for how most retros run, with the default sequence
- What went well;
- What needs to change;
- And other discussion items.
Over time, Matthias found that, as a matter of routine, this simple format works best for his team. However, to spice up that routine, Matthias also sprinkles in the occasional retro game. For Matthias, retro games have the most impact on generating insights. They get the creative juices flowing and help, well, generate new insights. Here are some of the games in his arsenal:
- #tweetmysprint: how would you summarize the last two weeks in 280 chars?
- Hit the headlines: What would make the news headlines, if you were to create a newspaper about the last two weeks? Get creative juices flowing as people design a newspaper with headlines and images.
- Sailboat retrospective: this is a visual game. Imagine your team on a sailboat. With this in mind, the team considers these questions:
- What is a wind pushing you in the right direction
- What anchors you in place (holds you back)
- What made us feel good, like we are bathing in sunshine
- Where are the rocks that risk us?
- Where’s the goal?
Unpacking “What needs to change” conversations
What to do when retros uncover things that need to change. Many “What needs to change” topics arise from obvious problematic situations. In those cases, there is a consensus that we, as a team, need to do better next time. The problems are not always easy to fix. But, no personal issue is involved. It’s easy to have a good brainstorm.
However, when the change is about personal behaviors, it’s much harder to raise the issue. Moreover, how do you do this in a way that drives change and actually strengthens the team? Matthias has the following tips he uses for these situations:
- Don’t panic. It’s normal to want to avoid the topic. Facing those issues requires courage.
- Never put anyone in the spot. Respect for everyone is at the heart of your team spirit, and how you conduct any discussion.
- Try to talk to the affected people before the retro. It’s easier for people to discuss some things in a small forum.
- Apply techniques of “Nonviolent Communication”. So, avoid being judgmental and talking about right or wrong. Talk about how the current situation makes you feel. Listen carefully to understand the other person’s experience and needs fully.
- Do not avoid those topics: untangling such issues is hard at first, but when done right, it has a good long term impact.
Use retrospectives to capture our habits
Retrospective meetings often result in an understanding about how the team wants to work. This is captured as a habit. Here are a few examples:
- Notify others about upcoming vacations.
- Decline/Accept meetings.
- Use Slack Status to communicate if you’re absent.
- Split issues into small steps.
- Try to avoid having two time consuming issues open at the same time.
Habits have their own Trello column. This Trello column has become a living team runbook. For me, formalizing decisions like these as habits looks very powerful. This is the best way to help newcomers fit in well. It’s also a practical way to turn the abstract idea of a culture into an etiquette. Here is a team that, within their own small universe, have explicitly expressed what it means to collaborate well.
And that is exactly what Matthias wanted retros to do.
Interested in more retrospectives wisdom?
- Checkout what Neal Taylor had to say about the importance of setting the scene.
- Read about Anshuman Dash’s take, he is another K15t rockstar
