A retrospective based on the Scrum values.
Why ValueSpectives?
- Teams new to Scrum need to know the Scrum values and also need to align their common understanding of the values
- Teams, which are working with Scrum need sometimes to remember, why they are working the way they are working
- This Retrospective makes also transparent, that using the Scrum values in daily business, can help to remove impediments
Set the Stage
Write down the Values of Scrum on big post its or on a flip chart. Remember you need some space. You can also ask the Team: “Which are the 5 Scrum Values” and let them write those on the post its.
- Commitment
- Respect
- Courage
- Openness
- Focus
During this phase of the retrospective, ask the team what their understanding about the values is. I often see, that people have different opinions, what each value means. This is diversity, this helps the team to flourish and this is gooood 🙂
Note each opinion and meaning near to the value. Maybe they can also find some examples, where they used openness or courage? By the way the team is now talking about their norms. Norms result from values and describe rules of conduct within a culture. Traditions for example are informal rules of conduct and laws are formal ones. A team would usually not describe an act, which do not fit in their culture. This can lead to less ideas. But you can also try to push them a litte bit out of their comfort zone and challange them with examples and stories from other teams, so that the team gets new ideas of possible actions.
Gather Data
Then put this beside and gather the data. What happened last sprint and what did really hurt? If needed ask the team for clustering and priorizing the collected data. You can use any technique you want here.
Generate Insights
Now take the values back. Analyze the data together with the team. Ask „using which value or act from your examples could be helpfull in this case?“ „Do you need to use more than one value to solve the problem?“ Note that this is not really easy for impediments, which are not located within the team. But be also aware, that you just give the frame and the team needs to find their solution on their own. Be also prepared to be surprised, how a team gets creative during this phase, when they feel safe space. Now your team should have some ideas.
Decide what to do
In this phase let the team decide, which of the creative ideas they had is usefull and which of them they want to try the next sprints.
Wrap up
Like in the phase gather data, do it on your own way.
And if you have any ideas, to improve this retro format, feel free to comment.