Free, Cheap, Scheduled: retrospective technique
I was telling Esther Derby about a little trick I worked out some time ago at one of my clients. The retrospectives had gone stale, with team members offering the same "we should..." list iteration after iteration. I suspected that they didn't feel that they really had the authority or permission to change their process for the better. I had a good relationship with the CIO and wandered into his office. I said, "we have some changes we want to make, and they won't really cost any money or affect other departments, and I just wondered if you think it would be okay to do them." The CIO looked at me incredulously, "Of course. That's a silly question to ask." "Alright, then there is this other change. It might take a few man days out of each iteration, but it will be helpful for the team. Would that be okay?" He sighed, "If it's a few man days per iteration, we can afford that. Go ahead and take that time. You don'...