{"id":489,"date":"2020-05-29T16:51:29","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T14:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retromat.org\/blog\/?p=489"},"modified":"2020-07-03T10:43:50","modified_gmt":"2020-07-03T08:43:50","slug":"activities-for-checking-up-on-action-items","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/retromat.org\/blog\/activities-for-checking-up-on-action-items\/","title":{"rendered":"Activities for Checking up on Action Items"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are a lot suggestions for Retromat that I can\u2019t\u00a0 include. Sometimes because the strict 5-phases format can\u2019t accommodate them. One example: Anja Schwarzpaul<\/a> developed the\u00a0 following activities for \u201cthe new Phase 2\u201d (that I used to call \u201cPhase 0\u201d)<\/a> aka \u201cthe phase in which you check what happened to last retro\u2019s action items\u201d. So far, there are very few activities for this new phase described out there. That\u2019s why I\u2019m extra excited to have Anja’s permission to share these two with you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her reason for coming up with these?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\n feel it\u2019s important to analyze successful or completed experiments in \nat least as much detail as failed or incomplete ones. Success doesn\u2019t \njust happen. There\u2019s always a reason. Real life success example in my \nteam: The phrasing was clear and concise, leaving little room for \nmisunderstandings and making the item easy to follow.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And here are Anja’s activities in her own words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Flow Chart<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Use a good old fashioned flow chart to dissect a single action item. (Probably scales to 2 or 3 actions). Duration is flexible and largely depends on the number of questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo courtesy of Anja Schwarzpaul<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From\n a start node, draw an arrow to a decision node labeled \u201cDone?\u201dor \n\u201cSuccess?\u201d. Now branch to \u201cyes\u201d and \u201cno\u201d paths along one or more boxes \ncontaining questions to be asked. Near the end of the diagram, merge \nboth branches into a final box \u201cAnything else?\u201d and end in a final \nstate.
Follow the path that the team indicates. If the result is \nambiguous, use the \u201cno\u201d branch until just before the merge, then the \n\u201cyes\u201d branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can either display the entire diagram at once or\n draw it as you go along. I outlined the start and decision nodes with a\n marker and sketched everything else with a pencil, in real time \noutlining only the path we used. This allows for adapting the \nquestion(s) to the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possible Questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n