This COVID19 period is a trying time for everyone, including businesses. With everyone being cautioned to stay home due to Coronavirus, more and more businesses are shutting down. However, many are still hanging on to hope by having their employees work from home. With the world in crisis mode, it is important to remain calm and try and come up with a new plan. 

What better time to hold remote sprint retrospectives than when everyone is stuck at home? A remote retrospective can be a game changer for companies who are continuing with business as usual (or as close to usual as possible). Let’s look at how remote retrospectives can be useful during the time of the Coronavirus.

What is a Remote Sprint Retrospective?

Just as its name suggests, a remote retrospective is a sprint retrospective meeting that is held remotely (or via the internet). This means that everyone can participate from their own homes. It can be held on a video conference platform so that everyone is able to be seen and heard. That way everyone has the chance to participate. 

A remote retro is simple to set up and easy to follow through with. Simply choose a time and a platform to use, create an agenda for the meeting, and carry out the meeting as normal. The agile retrospectives can still cover the same material as a face-to-face, as long as you have an agenda and stick to it.

How can I make the most of a Remote Agile Retrospective?

The point of a dev team retrospective meeting is to look at the past sprint, figure out what worked and what didn’t, and come up with ideas for the next sprint. By creating a plan for your development retrospective meeting and sticking to it, your team should be able to come up with some good ideas and create an action plan for upcoming sprints. 

It is imperative to have an agenda before the start of a meeting. Why? Well, because if you don’t know what topics need to be covered and how much time you have, then your retro meet could possibly be a waste of time. You must know what needs to be done in order to do it. 

Also, giving everyone a task can be incredibly helpful. Especially during remote retrospectives because everyone will be engaged and participating which makes for a productive meeting.

Why is a Remote Sprint Retro Format useful in the time of Coronavirus?

As was mentioned before, most people are being urged to stay home and the only way to hold a meeting with your team without everyone leaving their homes is by holding it virtually. Choosing a good platform in which everyone can be seen and heard is also very important because it encourages everyone to participate. 

By giving your team the chance to meet from the safety of their own homes, you are giving your company a chance to continue to progress. Remote retrospectives can be just as productive as in-person retrospectives and can be done from the comfort of your home office.