Re: [Scrum] Cross-Team Retrospectives

[Markus Gärtner]

I used Timeline for Data Gathering, and Open Space over one day in the past to Generate Insights for teams up to 60-80 people. You should plan in around 2 days overall, maybe for such a large group.

For two teams with communication issues, I would aim for one day, and use a World Cafe format or stuff.

Best Markus

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Dipl.-Inform. Markus Gärtner
Author of ATDD by Example - A Practical Guide to Acceptance
Test-Driven Development

Agile Team Academy, September, Amsterdam http://www.agileteamacademy.com/

http://www.shino.de/blog
http://www.mgaertne.de
http://www.it-agile.de
Twitter: @mgaertne

On 25.04.2013, at 18:15, Gastón Fernando D'Avola <gfda...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi everyone,

we're working using SCRUM in two separate teams who work together over the same app. Right now we're having some issues to solve which are deeply related to communication cross-team work.

Do you have any technique or advice to have a Retrospective which includes two teams at once? 

Is there any reading material you can recommend?

Thanks in advance!!

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[Jef Cumps]

Hello,

There's lots of useful techniques and tips in this book: http://www.amazon.com/Agile-Retrospectives-Making-Teams-Great/dp/0977616649. I'd get an experienced ScrumMaster to facilitate a Retrospective focused on the topic of cross-team communication, using some of the techniques from this book, or other techniques.

Make sure the team is doing the thinking, discussing, dis-agreeing and agreeing, converging, ...,  and defining actionable improvement steps themselves in the retrospective. Don't have the SM, mgmt or whoevever steer or 'control' on the content, only the SM on the process. I would also try to get the team thinking about the current pain(s) related to communication and next about the future state they'd like to reach. To then get them to define, and take ownership on an action plan bringing them from the current state to the future state.

I don't think you'll need an entire day to get to the first concrete improvement steps. I personally prefer to take smaller steps, and I prefer more frequent, shorter retrospectives over less frequent longer retrospectives.

Hope this helps! Good luck!
Jef

[Gastón Fernando D'Avola]

Hi Jef. 

I'm going to get the book you suggest, but the hardest obstacle we have to overcome is to engage the entire teams on the discussion. Usually we have 1 member in each team who is more 'vocal' than the others and they end up 'controlling' the meetings and the rest adopt a passive attitude. So the topics, decisions and improvements are the opinions of only two team members.

Has anyone experienced the need to shake up the rest of the team so they interact and take ownership of these topics? What did you do?

Thanks!

[Jef Cumps]

Hi,

Indeed quite a challenge sometimes to get everybody to be equally involved in retrospectives. Techniques that explicitly involve everybody (such as some from the book) are helpful, but also eliciting your observations in a respectful way often helps. Would it be possible to share your concern about not getting everybody's opinion with the team? And discuss it with them, explicitly inviting the less vocal members to share their opinion. Maybe a brainstorm in which each member is required to write 2-3 stickies with his/her impression / feeling / idea's / solutions to this issue might help. This way, you get all team member's idea, and you can refer to these stickies in the discussion if the vocal persons take the lead again...

Just another one of many idea's, but I remember a team that discussed this, and where the 1 more vocal (maybe even dominant ;-)) person proposed to always talk last (or even shut up completely)  in any team discussion for 2 sprints, to test and see if and what that would change. And it really helped. Of course, this is not something you can force...

Good luck!
Jef

2013/4/29 Gastón Fernando D'Avola <gfda...@gmail.com>

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[John Miller]

Establish Team Norms. Amazing what it can do. A great structure for self-management and depersonalizes it when you may need to facilitate by asking the dominant voice to take a back seat.

One I particularly like for just these kinds of discussions are the 7 Norms of Collaboration. Post it on a Flip Chart, explain them, and get commitment from the team to respect them. 

http://www.opi.mt.gov/pdf/RtI/Implement/ExploreB/SevenNormsToolkit.pdf

1. Promoting a Spirit of Inquiry

Exploring perceptions, assumptions, beliefs, and interpretations promotes the development of understanding. Inquiring into the ideas of others before advocating for one’s own ideas is important to productive dialogue and discussion.

2. Pausing

Pausing before responding or asking a question allows time for thinking and enhances dialogue, discussion, and decision-making.

3. Paraphrasing

Using a paraphrase starter that is comfortable for you – “So...” or “As you are...” or “You’re thinking...” – and following the starter with an efficient paraphrase assists members of the group in hearing and understanding one another as they converse and make decisions.

4. Probing

Using gentle open-ended probes or inquiries – “Please say more about...” or “I’m interested in...” or “I’d like to hear more about...” or “Then you are saying...” increases the clarity and precision of the group’s thinking.

5. Putting ideas on theTable

Ideas are the heart of meaningful dialogue and discussion. Label the intention of your comments. For example: “Here is one idea...” or “One thought I have is...” or “Here is a possible approach...” or “Another consideration might be...”.

6. Paying Attention to Self and Others

Meaningful dialogue and discussion are facilitated when each group member is conscious of self and of others, and is aware of what (s)he is saying and how it is said as well as how others are responding. This includes paying attention to learning styles when planning, facilitating, and participating in group meetings and conversations.

7. Presuming Positive Intentions

Assuming that others’ intentions are positive promotes and facilitates meaningful dialogue and discussion, and prevents unintentional put-downs. Using positive intentions in speech is one manifestation of this norm. 

Thanks,

John Miller

http://theagileschool.blogspot.com/

“Set patterns, incapable of adaptability, of pliability, only offer a better cage. Truth is outside of all patterns.” 
― Bruce Lee, Tao of Jeet Kune Do

[Markus Gärtner]

Two things:

- ensure everyone speaks up at the beginning of the meeting.

- work in tiny groups often with 2-4 people. Then merge the results.

Best Markus

--

Dipl.-Inform. Markus Gärtner
Author of ATDD by Example - A Practical Guide to Acceptance
Test-Driven Development

Agile Team Academy, September, Amsterdam http://www.agileteamacademy.com/

http://www.shino.de/blog
http://www.mgaertne.de
http://www.it-agile.de
Twitter: @mgaertne

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