During our recent ‘immersive Agile and Scrum workshop’, I brought up a thought-provoking discussion with the participants. We were exploring the different Scrum events when I asked a question that triggered quite the conversation. I asked, “which Scrum event would you chose if you could only do one?”
The responses were quite interesting and underlined the essence of collaborative teamwork. One participant said “Sprint Planning,” highlighting the importance of a well-thought of plan to ensure a smooth sailing Sprint journey. Another stated “Backlog Refinement,” reinforcing the need for a clear roadmap. Then followed “Daily Scrum,” as a collaborative space to tackle all issues and move forward as a team, I was taken aback. Why had no one called out Sprint Retrospectives? Perhaps, this very scenario points to why retrospectives are often under-appreciated?
Finally, it was my turn to contribute. With certainty, I declared that if I had only one event to pick, it would be the retrospectives. Why? Because the retrospectives can have a profound effect.
In my view, a team should never lose the sight of retrospectives. Even if retrospectives is the only ceremony a team does but does it well, it has the power to create a ripple effect of positive change.
Maybe the team may want to start some planning and work to make it effective over time.
And, in doing so, they will figure out the value of regular backlog refinement in making Sprint Planning better and so on ….
Do you see where I am going with this?
Remember:
“Agility is enabled by continuous improvement. The key to continuous improvement lies in retrospection. And, at the heart of retrospection lies individuals and interactions.”
Retrospectives guide us like a compass towards excellence, fostering collaboration, and nurturing a culture of perpetual enhancement.