keeping retrospectives from going stale
March 27th, 2006
So if you’re doing retrospectives after every iteration — that is every few weeks, how do you keep retrospectives from going stale? Some ideas here.
Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category
…and why to do retrospectives regularly
March 24th, 2006
Here’s Rachel Davies on regular retrospectives.
Seven Reasons to Have a Retrospective
March 24th, 2006
A while I go I pointed out the reasons *not* to have a retrospective. There are plenty of reasons *in favor* of having retrospectives (after every iteration): A well run retrospective enables the team to: step back and take a “whole system” view of their methods and practices discuss issues before they build up to
Listen up!
March 18th, 2006
I attended a short presentation on listening the other day. It was an interesting experience. In the first segment, the presenter demonstrated a listening technique. He listened to a guy talk for about 3 minutes, and then mirrored back what he’d said. He didn’t use the exact words, but he pretty much covered every idea
Talked out of No: Why there are no excuses with Satir’s Soft Spurn
March 9th, 2006
A friend of mine is being wooed by a potential employer. She told the hiring manager she couldn’t start a new job for 3 months. He asked for reasons. For each reason she gave, he had an excellent and logical reason for the opposite position. The more reasons she gave, he more he countered. By
In the Top 10
March 8th, 2006
Okay, I admit it. I check the Amazon ranking for Behind Closed Doors from time to time. And this morning, we’re in the Top 10 for Computer Books on Amazon!!!! Amit Asaravala reviewed BCD in SD’s People & Projects e-newsletter yesterday. Amit says: Rothman and Derby show Sam handling each of these issues–and many more–through
What does commitment look like?
March 6th, 2006
I had a conversation recently with a guy who was concerned about the level of “commitment” in his group. “It’s always the same people staying late,” he said. “The others just aren’t committed. We can’t accomplish everything we need to unless these other people step up and commit.” Oh, dear. There are (at least) two
Fatal Delegation Mistakes
February 26th, 2006
In BCD, Johanna and I wrote a section “Setup for Successful Delegation.” We wanted to help managers think through the boundaries of a task they’re delegating and be clear—with themselves and the other person—about requirements, unacceptable solutions, progress reporting, and desired results. Delegation can build trust and capacity when done well. When managers screw it
"A" work or "C" work
February 18th, 2006
On Friday I gave my talk, The Value-added Manager: 5 Pragmatic Practices at the SQUAD Conference in Denver. I had a great time. One of the practices I cover in my talk is making a to-do list and a not-to-do list and getting clear on priorities. A woman in the audience offered that she also
6 Reasons *not* to have a Retrospective
February 18th, 2006
Retrospectives are a great way for teams to inspect and adapt their methods and teamwork after each iteration and release. And they’re a great way for teams to build on success, learn from hard times, or bring closure when a project ends. But they’re not for good for everything. Don’t do a retrospective if you