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Evidence-Based Timelines for Agile Project Retrospectives – A Method Proposal

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Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming (XP 2012)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 111))

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Abstract

Retrospective analysis of agile projects can support identification of issues through team reflection and may enable learning and process improvements. Basing retrospectives primarily on experiences poses a risk of memory bias as people may remember events differently, which can lead to incorrect conclusions. This bias is enhanced in project retrospectives which cover a longer period compared to iteration retrospectives. To support teams in recalling accurate and joint views of projects, we propose using an evidence-based timeline with historical data as input to project retrospectives. The proposed method was developed together with a large software development company in the telecommunications domain. This paper outlines a method for visualizing an evidence-based project timeline by illustrating aspects such as business priority, iterations and test activities. Our method complements an experience-based approach by providing objective data as a starting point for reflection and aims to support objective analysis of issues and root causes.

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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Bjarnason, E., Regnell, B. (2012). Evidence-Based Timelines for Agile Project Retrospectives – A Method Proposal. In: Wohlin, C. (eds) Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming. XP 2012. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 111. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30350-0_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30350-0_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-30349-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-30350-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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