Only a few companies work in a truly agile way.
However, most companies usually only have individual areas or projects in which work is more or less "agile".
Perhaps you are also working on a semi-agile project and are asking yourself: Should I do retrospectives here?
Should I do retrospectives?
Should I do retrospectives in projects without Scrum?
Although retrospectives are part of Scrum, they can also be used in projects independently of Scrum.
While Scrum introduces various other formats and roles, retrospectives are a format that can also be used on its own without Scrum.
See also: Scrum Guide
The advantages of retrospectives in project teams without Scrum are:
- Ensuring regular reflection on the collaboration
- Strengthen team spirit and trust in the team
- Continuous process improvements
With a tool like Echometer, it is also very easy to carry out a retrospective in a structured and goal-oriented manner in project teams without Scrum.
You can simply try it out for free and evaluate whether it has helped your project team at the end of the retro via the team feedback on the "Return On Time Invested" (ROTI for short).
Retro to try out - Psychological safety Retro:
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?
Should I also use retrospectives in non-agile teams?
The same applies here as in the Scrum context: although retrospectives are an agile format, they can be used in virtually any non-agile team.
Every team should have a certain routine in which they coordinate, discuss collaboration and initiate improvements.
Some teams also call these routines "Team Meeting", "Team Weekly" or "Team Jour Fixe". Supporting these regular meetings with the structure of a classic retrospective can lead to better results and more commitment from the team:
- Meetings follow a clear retrospective structure
- The retrospective's ice-breaker lightens the mood
- All team members have their say and share their feedback
- Measures are recorded (ideally in the retro tool) and are not lost
So if you want more team engagement in your team meetings, you should definitely try out retrospectives in a non-agile team.
Echometer offers you a very simple retro tool suitable for beginners, with which you can also try out retrospectives in non-agile teams free of charge.
Retro to try out - the battery retrospective:
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?
