Using a learning-themed retrospective to strengthen your team’s learning culture and reduce learning debt

Software development teams traditionally use the retrospective ceremony to reflect on their results, performance and processes. But the software team retrospective can – and should – periodically focus on team-level concerns beyond these traditional themes.

In this talk, Kristen Foster-Marks will share her experience of leading a learning-themed retrospective, which encouraged her team to reflect on their personal beliefs about learning and up-skilling, their team’s learning culture, and the ways in which these beliefs and culture can both encourage and discourage engagement in on-the-job learning and up-skilling activities. Through this exercise, her team began to identify the strengths and weaknesses in their learning culture, as well as if, how and why they’re accumulating personal and team-wide learning debt.

Engineering leaders will walk away with vignettes around up-skilling challenges that she and her teammates have faced in their careers, as well as an overview of and access to a learning-themed retrospective template.