Team Practices Group/Retrospectives/2016-04-27

Previous Retro
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Team_Practices_Group/Retrospectives/2016-03-23

What has happened since last retro on March 23, 2016

 * Activities/Interruptions/Calendar Things
 * Hackathon in Jerusalem
 * TPG IRL
 * Lots of notes and followup
 * Wikilead
 * Sam Kaner meeting
 * People
 * No more David :(
 * Work on Strine backfill job description
 * Arthur is OFFICIAL


 * TPGer Engagements


 * Max finally digging in with Web
 * Max and Kevin working with Adam to plan Reading’s Offsite
 * Kevin featherweight™ engagement w/android team
 * Joel too
 * Kevin started working w/RelEng
 * Kevin started working w/ArchCom
 * VE/Research & Data (RD) SLU uncovered some serious tension
 * Kristen started Quarterly Goals/Review rethink with working group
 * Joel doing Phlog with Language, Collaboration
 * Org Stuff
 * Low org drama!!!!
 * Still some departures
 * Quarterly Review
 * Annual Reviews starting
 * Lots of trainings from Talent and Culture
 * Anna Stillwell started her workshops (“Getting Good Information” etc)
 * Also rolling out beta of cultural orientation
 * TPG team Stuff
 * TPG Offsite planning
 * Phlog-based retro of Q3
 * Starting interviews with designers/design stakeholders
 * TPG almost ate food synchronously
 * Hella retros about things
 * CSAT processing- Grace & Strine
 * Phate of Phlog?
 * Started to document, vet Guide
 * We’ve started tagging more deeply in This Week
 * Aaron Halfaker as guest speaker at Tea Time, Anna Stillwell as guest participant at Tea Time

Keep

 * Doing light engagements
 * Getting a variety of professional development opportunities! (Wikilead, in-house trainings, Community at Work) [1 +]
 * More specifically, TPG management is really supportive, even when they don’t always have the same support from above
 * Doing work tracking until we have enough data to evaluate its utility [2 + KS]
 * Getting TPG together, IRL works well
 * IRL from time to time
 * Pairing:
 * Mega CSAT processing day with Strine/GG
 * Phab best practices meeting with Joel & Kevin & GG
 * Pairing with GG/Kevin on strategy stuff - always good
 * Pairing JIT QR deck with GG/KL and presenting the QR
 * Joel and Max and Android
 * Kevin and Max and Android
 * Joel and Max and Web
 * Joel and Max and Phlogiston
 * Kevin and Max on Reading offsite
 * Kevin and Arthur on Strategy outcome doc
 * Joel and Kristen on Phlogiston
 * Arthur and Max and Life
 * Hanging out with Community at Work and Sam Kaner
 * Supporting teams facing tough issues
 * Bumblebeeing: +
 * More bumblebeeing with Joel/Grace
 * Others consciously acknowledging when they are bumblebeeing
 * Sharing poignant observations about our teams, particularly when they are about cross-org things (eg Joel’s highlighting concerning statements from VE re design)
 * Wikilead where Grace got to role play with Joel :) - can we practice this type of role playing?
 * Exploring novel ways to support the org and increase our capacity [4 +++ KS]
 * Examples of what we have already done?
 * EG Kevin supporting RelEng,

Stop

 * Cut back on meetings if possible (maybe some progress here already)
 * Doing too many things at once/context switching/gratuitous context switching due to info overload or losing track [5+++++]
 * Trying to tackle so much during IRL [3++ KS]
 * Taking on more work in general without cutting back at the same time (unless adding capacity)
 * TPG IRL followed by (Kaner followed by) wikilead was tiring
 * Offsite trainings on Tax Day
 * Pushing further with Phlogiston for now?
 * Scheduling Reading offsites in the middle of annual reviews
 * Do fewer (but not zero) activities that require us to be deeply introspective (e.g. peer reviews + wikilead + IRL + Kaner + EMMO work + Anna’s Culture thing all in 2-3 week span) [+]

Start

 * Do something with Team Health Checks [4++++]
 * Focus more on Q goals before it gets too late in the quarter? [1 +]
 * Planning better for WMF conferences like Hackathon and Wikimania
 * Plan how TPG will participate
 * Planning how TPG will handle impacts
 * Getting better at pattern of consistent followup [2+ KS]
 * E.g. action items from last retro - when exactly should we have checked if we are implementing them okay?
 * One team has also requested a way to stay on top of action items and hold each other accountable, and it doesn't fit well into Phab
 * Making sure we are applying our output from Meeting about meetings
 * Try to be better about debriefing right after events (e.g. Sam Kaner)
 * The output of the Meeting about Meetings - I am excited and at least one team I support is super interested in trying it
 * Handling (or avoiding) lots of open threads/decisions/questions at once, and closing them up.
 * Making more spots for Wikilead
 * Saying no to new work [6+++++ KS]
 * Try to figure out when not to take on more work when it seems urgent or cool
 * Make better use of our team priorities and goals to say no (in triaging, and what about all the work that bypasses triaging?)
 * Being able to take on new work, decide that it’s more important than something else, and actually cut or freeze the something else instead of having it linger
 * Follow Grace’s enlightening about WIP limits
 * been less into Tea Times this past month - can we reinvigorate it?
 * I’ll be more into it when the rest of my schedule calms down
 * Making time for TPG; running thin on capacity between 3 teams
 * Recognizing folks in the organization that might be marginalized, such as Designers [1+]

Further discussion

 * Exploring novel ways to support the org and increase our capacity [4 +++ KS] GRACE to kickoff thread
 * Examples of what we have already done?
 * EG Kevin supporting RelEng,
 * Arthur’s new role
 * Do something with THCs [4++++] GRACE to kickoff email thread to put them on hold T133815
 * Doing too many things at once/context switching/gratuitous context switching due to info overload or losing track [5+++++] JOEL & GRACE to pair on 4/29 incorporating this into bullet below
 * Saying no to new work [6+++++ KS]  GRACE to move to email also add to offsite etherpad DONE
 * Try to figure out when not to take on more work when it seems urgent or cool
 * Make better use of our team priorities and goals to say no (in triaging, and what about all the work that bypasses triaging?)
 * Being able to take on new work, decide that it’s more important than something else, and actually cut or freeze the something else instead of having it linger
 * Follow Grace’s enlightening about WIP limits
 * Why can’t we say no to new work?
 * Skipping triage - no venue to say no
 * Talk about at offsite?

Action Items

 * Exploring novel ways to support the org and increase our capacity [4 +++ KS] GRACE to kickoff thread
 * Examples of what we have already done?
 * EG Kevin supporting RelEng,
 * Arthur’s new role
 * Do something with THCs [4++++] GRACE to kickoff email thread to put them on hold
 * Doing too many things at once/context switching/gratuitous context switching due to info overload or losing track [5+++++] JOEL & GRACE to pair on incorporating this into bullet below
 * Saying no to new work [6+++++ KS]  GRACE to move to email also add to offsite etherpad

Next Facilitator:
Joel (either IRL or moved to after that week)