Skipping a Sprint Retrospective?
I am a Scrum Master for a team that is beginning to understand the value of the Sprint Retrospective and how it facilitates Continuous Improvement. Neither the importance of the Sprint Retrospective nor attendance in these meetings is the issue.
We have a 2-week sprint that will end on Wednesday, Dec 23rd. I will manage the administrative portion of sprint closing/starting on that day.
The entire team will be out over the last 2 weeks of the year (holiday, vacation), save for one team member who will be available through sprint close and sprint review before being OOO. We usually conduct our retrospectives at the end of each sprint, but unfortunately that cannot happen in this instance.
Is there any benefit to holding a retrospective mid-sprint? Is it alright to "skip" that sprint's retrospective, and commence in the following sprint? Are there activities/alternatives that others have employed in a similar situation?
I have already worked with the team and PO to set expectations around capacity for the sprint running from 12/23 to 1/6/16. We'll likely accept 1-2 small stories and get them done that Monday/Tuesday (1/4-1/5).
All help and suggestions are appreciated.
> Is there any benefit to holding a retrospective mid-sprint?
Certainly. Every opportunity should be taken to inspect and adapt. The end-of-Sprint Retrospective is a formal opportunity for this to take place before the next iteration commences and with the very latest data available.
If it isn't viable to hold an end-of-Sprint Retrospective then at least one other similar event should be held during the sprint, including at a time as close as possible to the sprint boundary so that the most current learnings can be applied. Do not delay a retrospective until the next Sprint, as that Sprint must commence with the best possible retrospective adaptations already in place, and a clean slate.
I would say daily standup meeting also works as a retrospective wherein team members inspect yesterday's progress and adapt for today's plan.
Doing a retrospective after the holidays doesn't make any sense, do it before going for vacation even before completing the Sprint will work.
I would agree to all the answers posted so far on this topic. I think you should hold a retrospective before the sprint ends and before all the people go on vacation. I think it is rather important to have a retrospective with all learning being discussed.