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Theory Retrospective

Theory: Retrospective

Introduction

Learning from experience is an important aspect of (digital) collaboration. It is about reflecting on what has happened and deriving insights that can be considered in the future to improve collaboration.

Definition of retrospective

As an example, here are two selected definitions of retrospective (or retro for short):

  1. "Retrospective (from Latin retrospectare, "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past." (Wikipedia -- see section on Software Development)

  2. "Retrospectives are team meetings that aim to learn from the past. "Retrospective" means "looking back". The team members look back together and evaluate what went well and what went badly. They analyze why things went well or deviated from expectations in order to formulate and tackle measures for improvement. (itit-agile) [ORIGINAL IN GERMAN]

What can a retrospective achieve?

Retrospectives are used to:

  • Initiate reflection on the collaboration

  • Identify potential for improvement

  • Remain curious and open

  • Try out new things

  • Adapt old or new ideas

In short:

  • to further develop yourself and teamwork

  • to clear up discrepancies

  • To work more purposefully

  • and to focus.

What a retrospective is NOT:

From
https://finding-marbles.com/retr-o-mat/was-ist-eine-agile-retrospektive/

  1. A blame game
    Retrospectives are not intended to shift responsibility and assign blame to others. Some facilitators therefore start their retrospectives by reading out the "Retrospective Prime Directive":
    Regardless of what we will discover - we understand and sincerely believe that in the given situation, with the available knowledge and resources and individual skills, everyone did their best. Focus on what you will do in the future.

  2. A "Laber"-Meeting
    [Translators note: In German, labern means to "blather" or "prattle"] If retrospectives are just another meeting where there is a lot of talk but nothing comes of it, i.e. if the retrospectives are not followed by concrete changes, adjustments or measures or if nobody is interested in them, then retrospectives are a waste of time.
    But if you implement the decisions from retrospectives, you can achieve amazing things! Small changes add up to far-reaching improvements, like compound interest. It's worth it!

Retrospective as opposed to Lessons Learned

[Translators note: Germans do use the English phrase "Lessons Learned". We'll continue to use it here as a term and it will always be capitalized so it can be recognized as such.]

First, two definitions so that you know what a Lessons Learned is:

  1. "Lessons Learned refers to learning from experience with the aim of actively using the knowledge gained in the future. (t2informatik) [GERMAN SOURCE]

  2. "Lessons Learned are findings, new knowledge or experiences that arise during work on a project, as well as their documentation. The innovative nature of projects means that project participants constantly gain new insights during a project. If they document new knowledge in an appropriate manner, it becomes an experience, aLesson Learned. Lessons Learned can be derived from both positive and negative experiences and accordingly describe optimization opportunities or risks. They can relate equally to aspects of management (e.g. organization) and the project object (e.g. solution approach)." (project magazine) [GERMAN SOURCE]

Both formats - retrospective and lessons learned - are designed to shed light on the way we work together in order to identify challenges and opportunities for improvement. The questions are "What went well or less well?" and "What can we learn from this for the next time?".

The main difference between the two formats is that lessons learned are used at the end, e.g. when the project is completed in classic project management or when the event is finished or something new has been introduced. The results are then made available to others.

Whereas the retrospective takes place continuously, e.g. in the framework of agile project management or team development. It focuses on optimizing collaboration within the team.