Retrospective

Retrospective Protocol

Run this protocol after each feature completion, or when the team encounters significant friction.

Step 1: Gather Data

Review the evidence since the last retrospective:

# Commits since last retro (look for the [retro] tag)
git log --oneline --since="$(git log --all --grep='[retro]' -1 --format='%ci' 2>/dev/null || echo '1 week ago')"

# Failed builds or reverted commits
git log --oneline --all --grep='revert\|fix\|broken\|oops'

# Files with the most churn (potential design issues)
git log --pretty=format: --name-only | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20

Step 2: Identify Friction

Categorize observations into:

Process Issues (how we work)

• Driver rotation unclear?
• Tasks too large or too vague?
• Communication gaps between agents?
• Agreements not being followed?

Technical Issues (what we build)

• Repeated build failures?
• Flaky tests?
• Asset pipeline errors?
• Merge conflicts?

Quality Issues (what we ship)

• Bugs found after "done"?
• Missing tests?
• Inconsistent code style?
• Performance regressions?

Step 3: Propose Changes

For each issue, write a specific, actionable change:

Bad: "We should communicate better" Good: "Before any agent starts implementing, post a 3-sentence plan in the team channel and wait for acknowledgment from at least one other agent"

Bad: "Tests should be better" Good: "Every gameplay test must verify: input registered, state changed, visual feedback triggered, audio feedback triggered"

Step 4: Apply Changes

1. Update .team/agreements.md with new or modified rules
2. Update agent profiles in .claude/agents/ if role boundaries need adjustment
3. Update skills in .claude/skills/ if technical patterns need refinement
4. Add hooks in .claude/settings.json if automated enforcement is needed

Step 5: Log the Retrospective

Append to .team/retrospective-log.md:

## Retrospective [DATE] - After [FEATURE/MILESTONE]

### What Went Well
- [Specific positive observation]

### What Caused Friction
- [Issue]: [Root cause]

### Changes Made
- [File modified]: [What changed and why]

### Action Items
- [ ] [Specific follow-up task]

Step 6: Commit

git add .team/ .claude/
git commit -m "refactor: update team agreements from retrospective [retro]"

When to Trigger

• After completing any feature (mandatory)
• After 3+ failed builds in a session
• After any reverted commit
• When any agent reports feeling "stuck" or confused about process
• At minimum, after every 2 hours of work

Anti-Patterns to Watch For

• Retrospective theater: Going through motions without making real changes
• Blame-oriented: Focus on what went wrong in the process, not who did it
• Too many changes at once: Pick the top 1-3 friction points. Don't rewrite everything.
• Ignoring previous retro items: Check that last retro's action items were completed