10 Retrospective Anti-Patterns (And How to Fix Them)
A bad retrospective is worse than no retrospective. It wastes time and breeds cynicism.
Here are the 10 most common ways teams ruin their retrospectives, and how to fix them.
1. Groundhog Day
The Pattern: The same issues come up every single sprint. "The tests are flaky." "Requirements are vague."
The Fix: Stop talking and start doing. Pick ONE issue and swarm on it. Do not leave the room until you have a concrete plan to fix it.
2. The Blame Game
The Pattern: "Who broke the build?"
The Fix: Read the Prime Directive. Focus on the process that allowed the build to break, not the person who pushed the button.
3. The Silent Movie
The Pattern: The facilitator asks a question. Silence.
The Fix: Use "Silent Writing" first. People are afraid to speak up. Let them write anonymously first.
4. The Wish List
The Pattern: "I wish we had more time." "I wish the client was nicer."
The Fix: Focus on the Circle of Control. If you can't change it, acknowledge it and move on. Focus on what you can do.
5. Management Spy
The Pattern: The VP of Engineering sits in "just to listen".
The Fix: Kick them out. Seriously. The retro is a safe space for the team.
6. The Rushed Retro
The Pattern: "We have 15 minutes, let's just do a quick round."
The Fix: Book 60 minutes. Respect the ceremony. If you don't have time to improve, you don't have time to work.
7. Action Item Graveyard
The Pattern: A long list of action items that never get done.
The Fix: Limit to 1 action item per sprint. Put it in the sprint backlog.
8. The Complaint Fest
The Pattern: Everyone vents, feels better, and changes nothing.
The Fix: Venting is fine for 5 minutes. Then pivot to solutions. "Okay, that sucks. What are we going to do about it?"
9. Peak-End Rule Trap
The Pattern: We only talk about the last 2 days of the sprint because that's what we remember.
The Fix: Bring data. Show the burndown chart. Remind the team what happened in Week 1.
10. Disconnected Retro
The Pattern: The retro happens, but the insights never leave the room.
The Fix: Share the learnings. Post a summary in Slack. Tell other teams what you learned.
Conclusion
Recognizing these patterns is the first step to fixing them.
Want to avoid these traps? Clear Retro is designed to guide you through a healthy process, forcing you to group, vote, and assign action items properly.