The year 2024 is drawing ever closer. Having only just survived the pandemic, the economy is now struggling with rising interest rates and a decline in consumer spending. There are also new hotbeds of war and, just under a year after the launch of Chat-GPT, the pace of innovation in this world does not seem to be slowing down.
And even if one thing is perceived as rather positive and the others as rather negative, they all create uncertainty.
The good thing is that agile working methods are precisely designed to deal with this uncertainty. But despite this, some topics will become more relevant in 2024 and you can find the right retrospectives for this here.
Note: Even classics like the "Keep Stop Start Retro" will remain state of the art, but if you have these retrospectives on your screen, you and your team will gain an unfair advantage.
For more classic retrospectives, you can read this article: 26 Refreshing Agile Retrospective Templates
The retrospective topics for 2024:
Topic #1 - Agile Delivery Retrospective
Due to the massive cost savings currently affecting many companies, the topic of "Agile Delivery" is becoming increasingly important. Use this retro to check how your team is positioned in this regard.
If you want to find out more about this trending topic, take a look at this article: Increase your agility in 2024
Health-Check questions:
These questions are answered on a scale (1-5):
We get things done really fast. No waiting, no delays.
We are able to estimate exactly what we can deliver in a given cycle and with the given resources.
Our sprint results do not require any post sprint rework to be delivered.
We limit our 'work in progress' to be focused at all times.
Open feedback questions:
When did your ways of working create a suboptimal flow of work (e.g., policies are unclear, not suitable or not adhered to)?
When has our way of working worked well?
What are recent examples for an increment that wasn't working / shippable at the end of the cycle?
Retrospective forecast 2024
Topic #2 - Team Commitments Retrospective
The current challenges require exceptional teamwork. Check whether your team is pulling together with this retro:
Health-Check questions:
These questions are answered on a scale (1-5):
As a team, we share a common understanding of what "good work" is.
Open feedback questions:
Handling of contradictory priorities: ‘When I encounter contradictory priorities, I …’
Communication of blockers: ‘When I am stuck on a task, I announce this by …’
Navigation of conflicts: ‘When I notice a conflict start to build up in our team, I …’
Retrospective forecast 2024
Topic #3 - Psychological safety Retro
Low-conflict collaboration is crucial, especially in tough times. To achieve this, however, everyone must have the confidence to talk about points of friction before they get out of hand. Having the security of always being able to speak out in a team is also known as "psychological safety". See where you stand on this topic:
Health-Check questions:
These questions are answered on a scale (1-5):
I regularly receive useful feedback on how good my performance is and how I can improve.
If a team member makes a mistake, they are not judged for it.
You're allowed to not know things in our team.
In conflicts, we talk on a factual level, so that no one feels personally attacked or judged.
Open feedback questions:
What else do we want to talk about?
Retrospective forecast 2024
Topic #4 - Battery Retrospective
Difficult times also put a strain on personal batteries. It is particularly important now to keep an eye on the team's energy levels:
Open feedback questions:
How full is your personal battery as a percentage right now?
What has drained your battery recently?
What has recharged your battery recently?
What would help you to save energy over the next few weeks?
Retrospective forecast 2024
Topic #5 - Future perspective (Future Retrospective)
In rapidly changing environments, you should not only reflect on what has happened, but also dare to look into the unknown. How do you want to act in the future?
Open feedback questions:
What is the most important milestone you would like to see us achieve as a team in the next week(s)?
Which hurdle should we focus on overcoming in the coming weeks?
What would you be particularly grateful for in the coming week(s)?
Retrospective forecast 2024
Topic #6 - Bottleneck retrospective
The days of an abundance of money are over. This often results in new bottlenecks to which work must adapt:
Open feedback questions:
Our bottleneck: What is the critical part in our structures and processes that determines how much we can achieve as a team?
What options are there for eliminating this one bottleneck?
Conclusion - Retrospective forecast 2024
Even if this article casts a rather gloomy light on the year 2024, there are many opportunities right now. Those who can handle this time well will rise from the ashes as winners.
To achieve this, however, you have to adapt quickly, especially NOW. Retrospectives are an essential tool for this. And with the retrospectives presented here in particular, you already have a competitive advantage.
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