The work-reflection-learning cycle - Department of Computer and ...

420 B.R. Krogstie
Fig. 1. Shared timeline from a reflection workshop (One event emphasized by the authors)
whiteboard. Individual satisfaction curves were drawn along it (see Fig. 1) and explained
by the participant. Next, the participants individually answered questions
about tasks, roles and lessons learned and presented their answers. After the workshop,
the teams made reflection notes.
The study showed that individual timelines and satisfaction curves reflected different
perspectives on a project process. Fig. 1 illustrates how experience curves may
differ within a team. The study also showed that shared timelines often reflected
views of the project not found in any individual timeline. Closer examination of the
individual timelines used in the creation of the shared timeline in Fig. 1 revealed that
most of the events from the individual timelines had been included in the shared one,
and some had been transformed through the co-constructive effort. For instance, the
event ‘a bit ineffective work’ in an individual timeline was modified into an event
marking a point in the project process when the team realized that they had to work
more efficiently (‘insight: need to work more efficiently’). The study [10] concludes
that the satisfaction curves gave the students new insights, that the workshop helped
them take new perspectives on important issues, and that they considered it useful.
2.2 Retrospective Reflection Aided by Historical Data in Collaborative Tools
In SD industry it is acknowledged [14] that project retrospectives would benefit from
better data to help participants create a shared understanding while avoiding oversimplification
and time-consuming examination of unimportant information. This was
addressed in a study of SD student projects in which historical data in project wikis,
used as lightweight project management tools by several teams [15], were used to aid
project participants’ reflection on their project process [9]. In retrospective interviews
with project members, wiki contents were chronologically examined, and particular
types of information was seen to trigger recall of and reflection on project events,
project phases, and collaboration within the team and with other stakeholders.
In [11] it was shown that historical data in an issue tracking tool, a lightweight tool
for SD project management, was useful to aid retrospective reflection. Historical
data was accessed by traversal of a timeline showing team members’ updates to development
artifacts. The reflection effort was organized in line with the approach of
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