Glad!Sad! Mad!| Glossary

Definition

‘Glad!Sad!Mad!’ is a popular retrospective technique that allows the Team Members to introspect and bring their emotions into play during the Retrospective or the Sprint. It basically postulates how the team is feeling after the last Sprint cycle.

Before the retrospective begins, the facilitator hangs three posters on the wall (one for each emotion) and informs them of the timebox of the retrospective. The facilitator hands the sticky notes to the audience, which they are told to keep private, so as to not be influenced by each other’s ideas. After sticking, there is a voting and discussion process that concludes the retrospective (and is also TimeBoxed).

Further Reading

  • “Agile Retrospectives – Making Good Teams Great (Pragmatic Programmers)”(book), by Esther Derby

Fail-Fast | Glossary

Definition

‘Fail-Fast’ is an oft-debated, controversial topic that involves trying something new, obtaining rapid feedback and quickly inspecting and adapting. It’s practiced in methods of high uncertainties , where it’s less expensive to start a product. The task is to learn whether the decisions work. If they don’t, the Project is killed fast, and focus is  moved on to the next thing.

It’s seen as a controversial move in the general press and media, which often sees it as reckless and irresponsible. It’s also a much criticized move in Agile/Lean/DevOps where the ‘fail often’ approach is not encouraged.

Further Reading

  • “Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win”(book), by Ryan Babineaux