Agile Retrospectives : A Practical Guide for Catalyzing Team Learning and Improvement
Esther Derby, Diana Larsen, David Horowitzspace for reflective practice and continuous small improvements, the two
habits at the core of agile work.
The second edition of this book embodies both. The authors’ reflective practice
of facilitation informs every piece of information here. Their continual
improvement at teaching this facilitation informs which pieces of information
are here. The pandemic changed how we work together, and this new book
supports that.
There’s a lot of reality in this book. Esther, Diana, and David do not assume
that every team is excited to retrospect. They do not believe that every organi-
zation will make this smooth, or that each situation can be easily resolved.
Instead, this book sets you up to set a team up to develop a shared sense of
their work. For collaborative practice, we need shared reflection.
The recommendations here focus on the team’s needs and on strengthening the
interactions between people who participate. This book does not center you,
the retrospective leader. It will not bring you glory. It will make you and
everyone you help more effective.
As the retrospective is the central agile practice, it is also the most portable.
Advice here is useful outside software and outside work. Making sense of a
situation together, collectively changing ourselves and our surroundings—this
is what forms human society.
Thank you for contributing to the world by running effective retrospectives.