by
3.77 of 5 stars
See how to mine the experience of your software development team continually throughout the life of the project. The tools and recipes in this book... read full description

reviews

Oct 05, 2011
Geoffrey rated it: 2 of 5 stars
I had heard such good things about this book that I ended up being a little disappointed.

Esther Derby has a specific approach for retrospectives, and she describes it well. It's not a bad read, but somehow it felt lacking anyhow. There were times when she focused on a part of her approach that I didn't feel that I needed (e.g. working agreements) and I felt like the book spent too much time in the weeds. Then there were times that she glossed over something that I'd like more advice More...
Jan 10, 2011
Peter rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Any worthwhile activity, either personal or professional, that consumes your time is worth learning from -- or at least that's my opinion. Retrospectives are a way of looking back at past activities and asking yourself "what went well and what should be changed". When you fold in the dynamics of teams these simple questions are not as easy to answer. Different people, different perspectives, different memories.

Agile Retrospectives is an indispensable resource for beginne More...
Jan 07, 2012
Bill rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This is a good overview of retrospective reviews. It is directed more at someone trying to bootstrap an agile process or fix a broken one. But it can also be useful for someone looking for fresh ingredients to add to a more established situation. The suggested team exercises sometimes come across as a bit more touchy-feely than I (or my team) are comfortable with. And the cheerful tone got a bit tiresome.

On the other hand, all that is exactly what I expected in a book like this. I wa More...
May 09, 2010
Brett rated it: 3 of 5 stars
The basic idea of the book is good, and lays out some thoughts on what is essentially a process of mastery for a small, "agile" team. I picked up a few good ideas that I can use, but overall it wasn't quite what I was expecting. (Of course, I'm not really sure what I was expecting.) It was very specific to agile software development teams, so maybe that was the problem I had with it.

If you work on a team like that, I think this book would be a good one to add to your readin
Jun 07, 2009
Karschtl rated it: 2 of 5 stars
Unfortunately the book couldn't provide the helpful information I expected after reading so many good reviews. The authors describe lots of tasks that might be a good idea but I don't think they would work with my team because a) our retrospective are way shorter than the ones those exercises are intented for and b) not all exercises you could do with Americans somehow wouldn't work with Austrian ppl and c) some exercises try to analyze things that don't need analyzation in our case.

More...
Jun 10, 2011
Alan rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Do you work with teams, any team? Like agile development or traditional? Or in manufacturing or basketball or church or a family? If so, read this book and apply it's information!
Nov 09, 2010
Susanne rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Very helpful book - a quick read at first, but then a great toolkit for running retrospectives. Well described with real-world examples. Helps every agile coach.
May 17, 2010
Luke marked it as to-read
Has been recommended to me for useful ideas in running retrospectives.
Feb 08, 2011
Igor rated it: 2 of 5 stars
have some good ideas, but too much noise
Feb 16, 2010
Marcin rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Good, useful, great reference for activities that can be used during retrospectives.
Oct 26, 2008
Amy rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Even if you're not doing agile, this book has good ideas for how to help make your retrospectives better. I imagine I'll bump it up a star after I actually start using the activities and can evaluate how effective they are.
Jan 03, 2012
Emily rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This is great food for thought.

** On hold temporarily. I'll get back to it in a week or two - as soon as my Christmas books are done. **
Jun 28, 2010
Derek rated it: 5 of 5 stars
If you are running agile retrospectives you need to read this book. If you are not running retrospectives what are you waiting for?
Oct 13, 2008
Julie rated it: 5 of 5 stars
A must have for Agile teams. I refer to it often. Retrospectives provide teams the best way to inspect and adapt.
Jan 03, 2012
Guillaume rated it: 5 of 5 stars
A must read, useful in many situations and all organizations.
Feb 11, 2012
Peter rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Feb 10, 2012
Andres rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Feb 10, 2012
Paweł marked it as to-read
Feb 10, 2012
J. Calvin rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Feb 08, 2012
Mathieu marked it as to-read
Feb 07, 2012
Luke marked it as to-read
Feb 01, 2012
Yves Hanoulle rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Feb 01, 2012
Yuval Yeret rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Jan 30, 2012
Juha is currently reading it
Jan 30, 2012
Rasmus Rasmussen rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Jan 30, 2012
Hakan rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Jan 28, 2012
Bogor marked it as to-read
Jan 26, 2012
Chris marked it as to-read
Jan 25, 2012
Jacob marked it as to-read
Jan 25, 2012
Seyhun marked it as to-read