Retrospectives: A Scrum Master's Guide (PDF)

A guide to 20 successful agile retrospective formats and a perfect companion for Retrospective Poker.

Running a successful retrospective can be challenging. Maybe you never run one before and you are not sure where to start. Maybe you run dozens of them and you see that they are not as productive as before. The solution is in the tools you can use to guide you to better retrospectives.

Retrospectives: A Scrum Master’s Guide is here to help Scrum Masters run awesome retrospective sessions and engage their teams in productive discussions that lead to actual solutions.

The guide includes twenty unique retrospective techniques and focuses on step-by-step instructions for each one of them. If you never run a session before, the guide will tell you how to and will help you be successful from the start.

In addition to clear instructions, each technique includes speaking prompts to get you a head-start in each Retrospective even if you didn't have time to prepare. Take away all the stress from facilitating difficult discussions!

The book also includes some general guidelines and advice that can be used in any retrospective, such as different ways to run a voting exercise, how to resolve common challenges in a retrospective, and how to engage your team in advance of the actual session.

As a professional Scrum Master with years of hands-on experience, I have collected, developed, and tested these techniques myself. All of them are based on my personal stories of working with a variety of teams. You will find a perfect technique that works best for your situation.

All the great things that are included in the book:

• Situational guide. A short explanation will help you understand what team and situation each technique works best to help you adapt your approach.
• Preparation guide. See exactly how much time and what you need to prepare for the session.
• Step-by-step instructions. Clear instructions will guide you through the session even if you never run a retrospective before.
• Speaking cues. To make sure your team understands various aspects of each technique, explanation examples are given for each step of your retrospective.
• Format variations. Almost every technique can be modified to be reused in a new way and provide different results thanks to additional examples.
• Facilitator's notes. Notes based on real-life challenges and situations are added to help you make your retrospective technique a success!