The sprint retrospective is a key ceremony within the Appian Delivery Methodology, which is founded on Agile and Scrum principles. The primary goal of this meeting is to inspect the previous sprint and create a plan for improvements in the next one. The two most fundamental questions that structure this discussion are "What went well?" and "What didn’t go well?". These questions encourage the team to reflect on both successes to be continued and challenges to be addressed, fostering a culture of continuous improvement focused on the team's processes, interactions, and tools.

B. What are the blockers?

This question is primarily addressed during daily stand-up meetings to ensure impediments are removed quickly, rather than waiting for the end-of-sprint retrospective.

C. Who did well in this sprint?

The retrospective focuses on the team's process and collaboration, not on singling out individual performance, which can hinder open and honest feedback.

1. Appian Community

Appian Delivery Methodology

"Execute Sprints": The official documentation describes the Sprint Retrospective's purpose: "The purpose of the Sprint Retrospective is to plan ways to increase quality and effectiveness. The Scrum Team inspects how the last Sprint went with regards to individuals

interactions

processes

tools

and their Definition of Done." This inspection is facilitated by asking what went well and what could be improved.

2. The Scrum Guide (scrumguides.org)

November 2020

"Sprint Retrospective

" p. 11: While not Appian-specific

Appian's methodology is based on Scrum. The guide states the purpose is to "plan ways to increase quality and effectiveness." It suggests topics for inspection include "individuals

interactions

processes

tools

and their Definition of Done

" which are naturally explored by asking what went well and what didn't.