Having built up a wide range of retrospectives I can't help but notice the changes teams go through as they mature in their practices.
If you think about it, if we are continually improving our delivery of software then it follows that our retrospectives will start to look and feel different as we focus on different problems.
1) Stop, I want to get off! - I think the first stage after the euphoria and excitement of moving to an agile process, is to winge. The complaints come thick and fast and it's usually everyone else's problem. It is cathartic but does not really move things forwards. Actions are probably difficult to get. The core problem is that the team don't want to own the process - they have been used to someone else owning it and have not accepted responsibility for it (or have not been allowed to)
2) Own it - Eventually, the team accept that although there are wider problems they own a lot more than they thought they did. I use the 'Perfect Sprint' retro to reset this - showing the team that their perfect sprint is largely in their control helps us get there. They start to come up with actions that they can do but these tend to be poorly managed. The team are still not clear that they own the process and it's still someone else's fault if it isn't working for them.
3) Going through the motions - It's easy coming up with ideas but putting them into action is another problem. The team essentially go through the motions, generate actions but don't have the guts or inclination to go through with them even if they are great ideas. If nothing is done about the actions then there is little point in the retro itself. The core problem is that carrying out actions requires a change in behviour, specifically it means the team need to take responsibility for their process. They realise they own it but changing it might still seem scary or too much work.
4) This is boring :( - To me, this is symptom of the process being OK and working for the team. The actions from the sprints might be predictable and may be difficult to implement since there is nothing much they want to improve when they look at the whole process. It feels boring to the team since everything is OK and the improvements are not immediately obvious or even with the process itself, which has been the primary focus up until now. Actions are pretty well managed by they might look and feel 'samey'.
5) Dive, Dive, Dive! - This is where we look at very specific areas rather than the process. Maybe this is a specific story or problem that the team have encountered. I have looked at metrics, team values, customers and suppliers and other focused topics. These focused retrospectives usually result in actions that are more difficult to put into action e.g. influencing other members of the organisation and usually take longer to carry out. The team will usually be good at keeping track of actions at this point and holding themselves to account.
6) Can we do that? - The team are creating actions and the scope of those actions is growing into a space where they are questioning what they can change. The team starts to ask to own more from its stakeholders and possibly changing the status quo.
7) Hands off - For me the last stage of this process is when the team own the retrospectives too. They see value in the ceremony and are disciplined in keeping track of and carrying out the actions they come up with. They challenge and support each other in carrying out actions and ask for help or advice if they need it.
This is not a sequential process and regressions are common. These are the stages I have seen and think about when working with a team - the goal being for them to own their process and it's evolution whilst honest enough to ask for help if they need it.
