1. RETRO MASALA
(Experience report)
Agile Cambridge 2012
Bhuwan Lodha | Kanchan Khera
@bhuwan | @k_khera

2. We are here to share our
experiences on making
retrospectives enjoyable and
effective
And would love to learn from your experiences
as well…
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3. Give us the ONE WORD that comes to your
mind about retrospectives (in your teams)
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4. Watch video at https://vimeo.com/49589446
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5. Most of us understand the IMPORTANCE of retrospectives…
So what’s missing?
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6. Watch video at https://vimeo.com/49589447
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7. So here is our take on the key
challenges..
1. The Spice is missing
2. Recipe is unclear
3. Is the Kitchen right?
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8. Challenge #1
We do it the same way.. over and over again
MASALA is missing…
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9. Here are a few MASALA references
I hate.. I love..
Rate yourself
Happiness meter
Hey, Stranger!
Focus Focus Focus !
Appreciation only
What did I learn?
The Big Picture
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Is this our best?

10. IHate.. I Love..
Text
 Suitable for teams that have a lot of emotions
which do not come out in traditional retro
sessions
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11. Rate Yourself
 Text
 Suitable for teams which are complacent and
need to define the next level
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12. What did I learn?
 Text
 Suitable for teams which are too involved in the
project work. Need to get the spirit of learning
imbibed
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13. Focus Focus Focus
 Text
 Suitable for teams which need to focus deeper
on certain topics (For example, testing,
collaboration etc.)
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14. What’s your favorite flavor?
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15. Challenge #2
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No clear framework for retrospectives

16. Introducing a new framework
Choose your style
Team Backlog
Great Teams
Action items Continuous Improvement
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17. Start early: Start retro from sprint 0, as early as possible
Set a Rhythm
Have clear roles, who is doing what
Play it like a game, make clear rules
(sample)
- No Laptops
- No two retrospectives sound the same
- Only on Fridays
- Speak up or Dance
- On Time or Ice Cream
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18. Snapshot of a team backlog
Order Action Item Owner Status
1 Setup build monitor Rahul Impediment
2 Block weekly standing time with Veena Pending
sponsor team
3 Complete first 4hr training session Rahul, Pete Done
on Selenium
4 Get better headset for Veena Biju Done
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19. The 5 Whys technique
Flurry of leaked bugs Technical issue
Very little automation testing
Lack of skills (selenium)
Lack of training for Selenium
No one talks about trainings
Manager does not believe in trainings People issue
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20. Challenge #3
The RIGHT Kitchen
Retrospectives do not fly far unless
the organization nurtures a culture
that supports them
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21. A Case Study
About the team
Team size: 5
• Highly skilled
• Not aligned
• Low collaboration
• Co-located
About the product:
• Not launched since 2 years
• Highly demanding sponsor
• Legacy code
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22. Retrospectives in this team
• Happened every 2 weeks
• No Action points were noted
• Same points were discussed in
almost every retro – No change
• The purpose of doing
retrospectives was unclear
• PO or SM conducted the
retrospective
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23. How we made it effective and interesting
• Introduced team backlog- action items
translated into change
• Conducted different retrospective flavors
I love-I hate,
Appreciation only,
Rate yourself
• Instead of “what went wrong in last sprint”
we asked “most boring thing which you have
done in last sprint”
• Withheld trust and listened to every feeling
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24. All this works because we have
teams with motivated individuals,
wanting to take on a journey from
being Good to GREAT…
THANK YOU…
bhuwan_lodha@mckinsey.com
kanchan_khera@mckinsey.com
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