A presentation at GitLab Commit: You Belong Here by Mary Thengvall
Holding a Non-Traditional Retrospective Mary Thengvall, Director, Developer Relations, Camunda #GitLabCommit #GitLabContribute @mary_grace 1
We’re going to cover… ● What is a retrospective? ● How should a community retrospective be conducted? ● When the retrospective is over, what happens next? #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 2
What is a retrospective? 🧐 #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 3
What is a retrospective? A Retrospective is a ceremony held at the end of each iteration in an agile project. The general purpose is to allow the team, as a group, to evaluate its past working cycle. In addition, it’s an important moment to gather feedback on what went well and what did not. 5 Things You Need To Know To Facilitate A Retrospective, José Alberto Zimermann #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 4
What is a retrospective? … the open source community version ● Public, not private #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 5
What is a retrospective? … the open source community version To the company, I represent the community. To the community, I represent the company. I must have both of their interests in mind at all times. #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 6
What is a retrospective? … the open source community version ● Public, not private ● Follow-through is (even more) important #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 7
What is a retrospective? … the open source community version ● Public, not private ● Follow-through is (even more) important ● Code of Conduct must be enforced #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 8
But why? 🤷🏻♀ ● Encourages open and honest feedback #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 9
But why? 🤷🏻♀ ● Encourages open and honest feedback ● Gives you a tangible way to keep track of feedback #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 10
How should a community retrospective be conducted? 👩🏽🏫 #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 11
Prep: Questions to Ask ● Who do you invite? #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 12
Prep: Questions to Ask ● Who do you invite? ● What expectations do you have? #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 13
Prep: Questions to Ask ● Who do you invite? ● What expectations do you have? ● Who is officially responsible to run the retrospective? #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 14
Prep: Questions to Ask ● Who do you invite? ● What expectations do you have? ● Who is officially responsible to run the retrospective? ● Do you have the bandwidth to follow up on action items? #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 15
Execution: Setting Expectations ● Establish working agreement #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 16
Execution: Setting Expectations #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 17
Execution: Setting Expectations ● Establish working agreement ● Identify roles #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 18
Execution: Setting Expectations ● Establish working agreement ● Identify roles ● Confirm timeline #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 19
Execution: Setting Expectations #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 20
Execution: Walking Through Issues #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 21
Once the retrospective is over, what happens next? ☑ #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 22
Following up on Action Items ● Communicate feedback ● Update documentation ● Create content ● Schedule meeting #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 23
Following up on Action Items #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 24
Summary ● Public retrospectives give you insight into your community. ● Transparency is key. When is the retro taking place? How can people take part? What happens after the retro? What’s the status of the items that were discussed in the last retro? Communicate early and often. ● Set expectations. What do you expect from community members? What can they, in turn, expect from you? ● Follow through. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. #GitLabCommit @mary_grace 25
Thank You Mary Thengvall Director, Developer Relations, Camunda @mary_grace marygrace.community https://gitlab.com/mary_grace/open-source-retrospective-template #GitLabCommit 26
Retrospectives are traditionally held to evaluate how a launch went, determine what went well (and what didn’t) at a recent conference, or recap a recent outage.
But what if we use the retrospective model with an open source community? If we encourage a safe and open environment to share candid opinions and experiences, a retrospective can be an effective way to solicit feedback beyond the questions asked on the forum.
By using tools like Kanban boards to organize “post-it notes” into columns of What’s going well? What’s going poorly? and What could we be doing better?, you can have an open and honest conversation with engaged community members.
for free. You
can too.