Project Retrospectives: A Handbook for Team Reviews SYNOPSIS
With detailed scenarios, imaginative illustrations, and step-by-
step instructions, consultant Norman L. Kerth guides readers
through productive, empowering retrospectives of project
performance.
Whether your shop calls them postmortems or postpartums or
something else, project retrospectives offer organizations a
formal method for preserving the valuable lessons learned from
the successes and failures of every project. These lessons and
the measurements they yield foster stronger teams and savings
on subsequent efforts.
For a retrospective to be effective and successful, though, it
needs to be safe. Kerth shows facilitators and participants how
to defeat the fear of retribution and establish an air of mutual
trust. One tool is Kerth�s Prime Directive: "Regardless of what
we discover, we must understand and truly believe that everyone
did the best job he or she could, given what was known at the
time, his or her skills and abilities, the resources available, and
the situation at hand."
Applying years of experience as a project retrospective
facilitator for software organizations, Kerth reveals his secrets
for managing the sensitive, often emotionally charged issues
that arise as teams relive and learn from each project.
Don�t move on to your next project without consulting and
using this readable, practical handbook. Each member of your
team will be better prepared for the next deadline.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Kerth, a consultant to software organizations, guides facilitators and participants through the process of the project retrospective using scenarios and detailed, cartoon-illustrated instructions. The retrospective is a formal method for preserving the lessons learned from the successes and failures of projects. Kerth shows how to conduct one in an atmosphere of mutual trust and without the fear of retribution. The goal is for the lessons and changes identified by the community to foster stronger teams and savings on subsequent efforts. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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