The Ultimate Guide to Sprint Retrospectives

Sprint retrospectives are a foundational element of Scrum project management . When done right, a sprint retrospective can help teams improve their processes for future sprints and see better results in less time. When done wrong, they can result in interpersonal conflicts and wasted resources.

In this article, we’ll show you how to master sprint retrospectives with project management tools like Gantt charts, detailed tasks, and automated data reporting — all within UDN Task Manager .

What is a sprint retrospective?

A sprint retrospective is a review of a past period of work. It’s used to evaluate both team and individual performance. Insights gained from a sprint retrospective informs the next sprint so that it can be even more successful than the last.

To best understand what a sprint retrospective is, we can look at what each word means separately.

A sprint retrospective aims to optimize systems, reduce potential roadblocks, and stay on track to meet big picture goals.

What is the difference between sprint review and sprint retrospective?

The biggest difference between a sprint review and a sprint retrospective is the goal each attempts to achieve.

A sprint review is used to discuss what happened during the project. Sprint reviews are typically limited to managers and team leads. The information gathered in a sprint review will be shared with other relevant stakeholders and collaborators afterward.

The sprint retrospective agenda is used to discuss how a sprint went with an emphasis on process and workflow. The entire Scrum team attends these meetings to provide their boots on the ground feedback. Anything learned during a sprint retrospective is put into action during the next sprint.

What is a sprint retrospective meeting?

A sprint retrospective meeting is a formal gathering of Scrum teams and stakeholders to go over a previous sprint. During the meeting, they create a concrete plan for applying those insights in the future.

A sprint retrospective usually takes place the day after a sprint finishes or immediately following a sprint review. The goal is to have minimal lag time between that one and the next.

What happens in a sprint retrospective meeting?

A sprint retrospective meeting is a discussion that everyone participates in. But if you’re wondering what happens explicitly, here are some sprint retrospective ideas every organizer needs to know:

1. Explain how it works

Go over the purpose of the meeting, what will be discussed, and when you plan to wrap things up. If you have a speaking order planned, share that now. Otherwise, use the hand raise feature on your virtual conferencing platform or kick it off with your observations.

2. Structure feedback

The most important thing to remember about sprint retrospectives is that they are meant to analyze your team’s process, not its employees. Alienating individuals is counterproductive here. Instead, frame any issues as a group concern and address them as such — even if the person responsible has to come up with a fix.

Go a step further and explain how you want feedback to be given to keep the conversation on track.

Here’s an effective feedback formula for sprint retrospectives:

Feedback can be given in a round-robin format for smaller teams. Or, if your team is larger than 10 people, ask for volunteer speakers ahead of time, then leave room at the end for additional comments.

Need help getting people to participate? Narrow the conversation down to a simple question: what’s your no-nuance take on how the sprint went in one sentence?

3. Keep an eye on the time

In a 45-minute meeting, teams should allocate:

Sprint retrospectives are meant to be efficient, which means not every concern can be fully addressed in the given timeframe. The solution? Brainstorm a list of all concerns, then as a team, put them in order from most impactful to least impactful.

Quickly identify how many you plan to get through during this meeting. Whatever isn’t discussed by the time the session is over will be set aside for after the next sprint. If those issues come up again, put them at the top of the list this time. Rinse and repeat.

Have a designated timekeeper who feels comfortable interrupting wandering thoughts and bringing the group back together after tangents.

Pro tip : Put your a long-winded team member up for the job. They’ll be hyper-aware of how much they need to summarize their own thoughts.

4. Go over reports

Sprint retrospectives tend to be anecdotal. However, opinions alone won’t help your next sprint success. Each statement or choice needs to be supported by real data. You can:

Share the sprint reports with everyone in the meeting ahead of time so they can come prepared with questions. When notifying your team, give them one or two main ideas they can reflect on to keep them focused.

Some great report-related questions to ask include:

Bring or link copies of these reports within your meeting invitation for people to refer to on the day.

5. Turn ideas into action

Before the meeting is over, come up with at least one concrete takeaway from the last sprint with details such as:

In the next sprint retrospective meeting, briefly address the actions taken to resolve past issues. Honestly evaluate whether the issues were resolved or if they need revisiting.

Here are some tips for planning effective next steps after a sprint retrospective:

What are the benefits of sprint retrospective meetings?

There are countless benefits of sprint retrospective meetings, but here are our favorites:

How long is a sprint retrospective meeting?

How long a sprint retrospective meeting depends on how long the sprint itself was. But your team size and complexity will factor in too. The typical time box for a sprint retrospective meeting is 45 minutes to two hours.

Sprint retrospective meetings typically last up to three hours after a month-long sprint. If you’re wondering how long yours should be, the math works out to 45 minutes for every one week in a sprint (based on the example). If your sprint was shorter than seven days, schedule the meeting for at least 45 minutes just in case.

When should a sprint retrospective meeting be held?

Here’s the order in which all major sprint meetings happen:

The next sprint begins right after, and the cycle repeats itself.

So as you can see, a sprint retrospective should be held directly after a sprint review or within a day or two of completing all other sprint tasks. Add your sprint retrospective meetings as a task at the end of each sprint within UDN Task Manager to keep everyone on the same page.

Who runs sprint retrospective meetings?

The product owner and Scrum master run sprint retrospective meetings. However, project managers may also want to take the lead since they have a less biased view of the overall process.

What questions should be asked in a sprint retrospective meeting?

Address all three of these question categories at your next sprint retrospective meeting:

Hint : Use UDN Task Manager to review workloads across your entire team when assigning tasks.

Plan your next sprint retrospective with UDN Task Manager

Sprint retrospectives are so much more than just a meeting. They’re a bite-sized productivity powerhouse Scrum teams can use to optimize their projects. Not only are sprint retrospectives great for teams, but they’re also a vital component of the sprint process itself.

To get the most out of any sprint retrospective, you need project management software. Explore UDN Task Manager ’s two-week free trial to plan your next successful sprint retrospective.