Agile Retrospectives

8.5 Activity: Return on Time Invested (ROTI)

Use in the closing retrospective phase for iteration or release retrospectives (or at the end of any meeting you’d like to improve).

Purpose

Help generate feedback on the retrospective process and gauge the effectiveness of the session from the team members’ perspectives.

Time Needed

Ten minutes.

Description

At the end of retrospective, ask team members to give feedback on whether they spent their time well.

Steps

1. Show the three flip charts to the group, and discuss the types of benefits that might come out of the group process. Types of benefits include decision making (did the retrospective result in decisions that move the team forward?), information sharing (did team members receive useful information or answers to questions?), problem-solving (were team members able to state and solve problems, find alternative solutions, and choose actions?)

2. Going around the circle, ask each team member to say the number that reflects their return on time invested. Record hash marks on the second flip chart.

3. After everyone has responded, ask those who rated the retrospective 2 or higher to say what benefits they received. Then ask those who rated the retrospective 0 or 1, what they wanted but didn’t get.

4. Even if many people rated the meeting at 3 or 4, ask the whole group to tell you what to keep or change about the process. Write their answers on a blank flip chart. Express your appreciation for their help in improving the team ...