Date: Friday, February 21, 2025

1. Introduction

This sprint retrospective focused on team collaboration, meeting structure, and communication improvements. Key topics included sprint progress reports, stand-up meeting formats, Notion and Discord workflow integration, micro demos, and capacity management. Additionally, the team explored ideas for a creative safe space to share work and discussed better email information dissemination.

2. What Went Well

• Team Recognition & Morale:
  • The "You Rock Rock" recognition activity fostered a positive atmosphere.
  • Multiple team members, especially Phillip, were praised for their creativity and diligence.
• Improved Meeting Structures & Sprint Reporting:
  • The implementation of suggestions from the last retrospective enhanced time management.
  • Agendas were followed more closely, increasing meeting efficiency.
  • A new system for sprint progress reports was established to streamline updates.
• Better Understanding of Communication Tools:
  • Clarification on the role of Notion (documentation) vs. Discord (communication).
  • Team alignment on reducing duplicate postings across platforms.
• Proposed Enhancements for Team Workflow:
  • Introduction of micro demos at the end of the first week of the sprint to align teams.
  • Exploration of a creative space for team members to showcase ideas.

3. What Didn’t Go Well

• Sprint Progress Reports & Communication Gaps:
  • Sprint reports were previously compiled manually leading to inefficiencies.
  • Some miscommunication regarding who is responsible for updates.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration Challenges:
  • Lack of cohesion between teams prompting the need for more structured collaboration.
  • Uncertainty about the effectiveness of stand-up meetings in their current format.
• Notion & Discord Workflow Issues:
  • Some team members questioned the necessity of posting updates on both platforms.
  • Lack of clarity on where to track daily updates versus documentation.
• Information Dissemination & Email Access Concerns:
  • Difficulty ensuring all relevant team members receive important emails.
  • Leads have access to emails but lack a structured process for distributing information.
• Capacity & Workload Distribution:
  • Concerns about viewing deliverables as individual tasks rather than team efforts.
  • Team members feeling overloaded due to unclear support structures.
• Creative Work & Intellectual Property Concerns:
  • Debate on the implications of sharing creative work in a "safe space."
  • Uncertainty about how to balance open collaboration with client relationships and intellectual property rights.

4. Action Items