Are your retros boring, non-productive, and a waste of time? Come learn about 2 case studies of extraordinary retrospectives.

Retrospectives are the heart of the feedback loop that exists within an agile framework that fosters self-improvement.

Retrospectives lose value due to 2 reasons - they get boring or they have no value in terms of actionable items.

The first case will describe a team's experience organized at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. A custom tour was developed that focused on "mateship".

The second case will describe a team's experience at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, Australia. A prototype team training based on Visual Thinking Strategies, VTS, usually reserved for 11-12 year old school children.

I will describe how you can partner with a variety of resources, including government programs, that will enable you to do the same thing.

Target audience = Agile Coach, Scrum Master, Facilitator

Mechanics =

- Overview of the retro and the value, 5'
- Common retro antipatterns, 5'
- Case study #1 on an extraordinary retro, 5'
- Case study #2 on an extraordinary retro, 5'
- How can extraordinary retros be created?, 5'
- How do you generate useful action items for continuous improvement, 5'
- Overview of retro tools to ad to the toolbox, 5'
- Q&A to fill the remaining timebox

Learning outcomes =

Learn why retrospectives lose their value. Two case studies will show how out-of-the-ordinary retros can have value. Attendees will walk away with concrete examples of how a transformation agent can integrate with local resources to provide an exceptional retrospective.

Slides = https://goo.gl/x15XbP

Video sample = https://www.youtube.com/embed/qG5GZs3D_kY?feature=oembed

Presentation history of this session:

• LAST Melbourne 2017
• Regional Scrum Gathering India 2017

Alex's conference and presentation history:

• Agile Open Northwest 2012 - Session Leader
• Übermind ÜnConference 2012 - Session Leader
• MobileUXCamp Seattle 2012 - Session Leader
• Seattle Kaizen Camp 2012 - Session Leader
• MAQCon 2012 - Cofounder
• MobileUXCamp Seattle 2013 - Session Leader
• Seattle Kaizen Camp 2013 - Session Leader
• MobileUXCamp Seattle 2014 - Session Leader
• Seattle Kaizen Camp 2014 - Session Leader
• Construx Software Executive Summit 2014 – Workshop Facilitator
• Shell Developers Summit 2015 - Keynote Speaker
• Scrum Coaching Retreat Seattle 2015 - Volunteer Team
• Un:Conference Canberra 2016 - Session Leader
• Agile2016 - Volunteer Team
• UX Australia 2016 - Speaker, Reviewer
• Agile Coach Camp Sydney 2016 - Session Leader
• Agile Tour Sydney 2016 – Workshop Facilitator
• StartCon 2016 - Pitch Competitor
• Global Scrum Gathering San Diego 2017 - Reviewer
• Agile Australia 2017 - Reviewer
• JAFAC 2017 - Session Leader
• Global Scrum Gathering Singapore 2017 – Workshop Facilitator
• LAST Melbourne 2017 – Speaker, Workshop Facilitator
• LAST Sydney 2017 - Workshop Facilitator
• Regional Scrum Gathering India 2017 – Speaker, Workshop Facilitator, Coaches’ Clinic Coach
• LAST Canberra 2017 – Organizer, Speaker
• Agile NZ 2017 – Workshop Facilitator
• Regional Scrum Gathering Australia 2017 – Workshop Facilitator
• Regional Scrum Gathering South Africa 2017 – Workshop Facilitator
• Business Enterprise Agility Conference 2017 – Workshop Facilitator
• Business Agility 2018 – Nominated Facilitator

References to Your Speaking Ability

• Jeremie Benazra - jeremie.benazra@gmail.com
• Simon Bennett - simon@lasting-benefits.com
• Steve McConnell - steve.mcconnell@construx.com
• Damian Troselj - damian.troselj@gmail.com