1.2.3 Retrospectives Flashcards
What are Retrospectives?
In Agile development, a retrospective is a meeting held at the end of each iteration to discuss what was successful, what could be improved, and how to incorporate the improvements and retain the successes in future iterations. Retrospectives cover topics such as the process, people, organizations, relationships, and tools. Regularly conducted retrospective meetings, when appropriate follow up activities occur, are critical to self-organization and continual improvement of development and testing.
Advantages of Retrospectives?
Retrospectives can result in test-related improvement decisions focused on test effectiveness, test productivity, test case quality, and team satisfaction. They may also address the testability of the applications, user stories, features, or system interfaces. Root cause analysis of defects can drive testing and development improvements. In general, teams should implement only a few improvements per iteration. This allows for continuous improvement at a sustained pace.
Timings of Retrospectives?
The timing and organization of the retrospective depends on the particular Agile method followed. Business representatives and the team attend each retrospective as participants while the facilitator organizes and runs the meeting. In some cases, the teams may invite other participants to the meeting.
Testers role in Retrospectives?
Testers should play an important role in the retrospectives. Testers are part of the team and bring their unique perspective [ISTQB_FL_SYL], Section 1.5. Testing occurs in each sprint and vitally contributes to success. All team members, testers and non-testers, can provide input on both testing and non-testing activities.
Why is trust an important aspect of Retrospectives?
Retrospectives must occur within a professional environment characterized by mutual trust. The attributes of a successful retrospective are the same as those for any other review as is discussed in the Foundation Level syllabus [ISTQB_FL_SYL], Section 3.2.
