Team Practices Group/Retrospectives/2016-03-23

Previous Themes/Actionables
* Action! Kristen volunteers to check with Sara about status of training activities and opportunities (See “[Wmfall] Priorities, initiatives, and classes...”) ✅

* Action! Learn from the past goals as we develop our Q4 goals ✅

* Action! Kristen to follow up with Joady to see if there are official coverage plans for Boryana ✅

What has happened since the last retro? 2016-02-23

 * Foundation-level
 * Annual Planning
 * Lila announced resignation (last day 3/31)
 * Katherine was appointed Interim ED
 * Joady was appointed interim Director of T & C
 * Several more departures
 * Boryana left
 * Frances, May, and Floor all announced departures in same week
 * Oliver Keyes
 * Siko Bourterse
 * We had a "snow day"
 * WMF draft strategy was released for review


 * Elevator drama in SF
 * TPG Staffing
 * Kevin went fully remote
 * Strine announced team shift
 * We found out that we’ll be backfilling a TPG slot (David)
 * Kristen is permanent’d as TPGM
 * Arthur returned(ish)
 * Working to define potential new role in TPG
 * We got a new Overseer (Joady)
 * We talked about possibly moving under Product/Wes in the future
 * TPG Planning
 * Finalized draft Q4 Goals
 * We got creative
 * We sent out the CSAT
 * Submitted TPG Annual Plan strategic budget/narrative
 * We talked to several groups for our strategy tests
 * TPG strategy stuff


 * Heavyweight/regular team responsibilities:
 * Design Researchers came back from Mexico, and Grace facilitated retrospective
 * Max and Kevin will be TPGing the Reading offsite!
 * Phlogiston
 * Phlogiston broke a lot
 * Joel fixed a lot of Phlogiston bugs from Phabricator upgrade and also from his own stupidity
 * TPG Lightweight Engagements
 * Joel facilitated FY2017 Prioritization for WP0 & Partnerships team
 * Joe asked for backlog design help
 * Amir asked for results of Core/Maintenance tagged and looked at Phlogiston reporting and wants Runa to follow up
 * Brainstorming w/Katie Horn
 * Grace helped with Programs Dashboard

Start Doing
(Numbers in brackets are the votes for discussion)
 * [1] Follow-up and finishing for Q3 tasks - always be closing. +
 * Get something out of TPG work tracking
 * [1] Writing down decisions we make in meetings +
 * [4] Clarify and articulate whether or not code review conventions are in scope for TPG[4] ++++
 * Consistent meeting notes practice followed by all (and documented, and easy, and WMF follows it, and a pony)
 * [2] Look for ways to (continually) see forests instead of trees ++

Stop Doing
(Numbers in brackets are the votes for discussion)
 * [1] Disorganized naming/date/folder conventions for TPG Drive+
 * Schedule overloading (was: 3 30 min TPG meetings in a row is not healthy)
 * [5] (Stop) Reanimating ideasl [5]++ +++
 * Lack of clarity around if a decision has been made - could gaining clarity help prevent reanimation?
 * ‘Partial’ decisions being made (partial decisions are WIP)
 * Call out decision points and review decisions made, but also don’t try to make a decision in last 30s of a meeting
 * Next step: Meeting about meetings! Next stepping, decisions, meeting notes [Grace]
 * [3] Allowing messy annual planning to go by without helping [3] +++
 * E.g. process coaching: clearer instructions, organizing docs, version control.
 * We have been asked to help with a retrospective
 * [4] Maybe reduce the amount of TPG-specific work? [4] ++++
 * [2] TPG coding solutions for Phabricator data visualizations (eg Phlogiston)?++

Continue Doing
(Numbers in brackets are the votes for discussion)
 * [1] Tea Time!+
 * Talking about things like Unconscious Bias
 * Weekly grooming as an all-optional meeting
 * Combined weekly review/staff meeting seems to work
 * [3] Bumblebeeing! [3] ++ +
 * Bumblebeeing with Joel & Researchers/Grace
 * Pairing
 * Joel’s bumblebee imitation +100
 * [4] Talking to other people in the org (customers, Agile Skeppers chats) [4] +++ +
 * [1] Tagging? (in phab)--use it more in TPG? +
 * [3] Lightweight engagements (like Learning Dashboard) with other parts of org [3] ++ +

Discussion of the top three:

 * (Stop) Reanimating ideasl ++ +++
 * Action! Set up meeting to discuss improving meeting practices, including the points below + consistent meeting notes GG
 * Action! Call out decision points: “is this a decision?"
 * Action! Provide time for considered decision-making (eg not the last 30 seconds of a meeting); distinct from next steps
 * Talking to other people in the org (customers, Agile Skeppers chats) [4] +++ +
 * Kevin: trying to watch out for opportunities
 * Incorporate into wrapping up strategy
 * [4 Clarify and articulate whether or not code review conventions are in scope for TPG[4] ++++
 * Action! Continue convo during IRL (add to etherpad) AWJR
 * Maybe reduce the amount of TPG-specific work? [4] ++++
 * Action! Continue convo during IRL (add to etherpad) AWJR

Action Items

 * Action! Set up meeting to discuss improving meeting practices, including the points below + consistent meeting notes GG
 * Action-ish! Call out decision points: “is this a decision?” (Everyone)
 * Action-ish! Provide time for considered decision-making (eg not the last 30 seconds of a meeting); distinct from next steps (Everyone)
 * Action! Continue convos (code review; reduce TPG work) during IRL (add to etherpad) AWJR