Improving Agile Retrospectives: Helping Teams Become More Efficient, 1/e

7Solution-Focused Retrospectives

By Veronika Kotrba MC and Dr. Ralph Miarka MSc

The goal of most retrospectives is to work together as a group to find changes that will lead to a better future. In our experience of retrospectives, however, a lot of time is often spent on discussing the “bad” past. The result of this is that the participants spend an insufficient amount of time discussing their desired future. This gives the impression that no significant steps forward have been taken and, as a consequence, the participants of these retrospectives always report feeling frustrated and demotivated.

In contrast to this, Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg’s solution-focused approach concentrates on the “better” future. In our view, it offers an alternative ...