#8 Different Retro Same Improvements

Symptom: The same improvements keep appearing from retrospective to retrospective with no visible sign of progress and the are team losing interest.

Probable Cause: No closure of improvements identified in retrospectives.

Suggested Resolution: Try to derive an action plan and follow up on improvements. It sounds simple, but you really need to go that extra mile to close the improvements and achieve some real progress for the team so that they do not reappear at the next retro.

Also try to toggle between a generic retro looking at general improvements and specific retros looking at specific areas for improvements that you can resolve before the next retrospective.

In addition, try to also do a retrospective on the retrospective at the end to determine if your current retrospective format could also be improved.

The retrospectives are a real learning forum for the team to take stock of what they are doing and how they are doing it. But progress needs to be made for the team to feel that there is real value in these.

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