Finding out what worked and what didn’t in a project is a great way to move forward with the next one.
Take for example, a reflection on a series of workshops conducted. How do we know how to get more from the workshops for the next series?
Well, user feedback is one way, but, another perspective is seeing what the team members can tell you about the events, such as:
- What were the challenges faced?
- What worked well, what didn’t, and why?
- And any other feedback…
You can keep this reflection as an informal discussion with note-taking. Once you have your findings, work out what could be applied to the next project.
An example
What worked well
- Sending a calendar invite ensured more registrees showed up on the day
- Sending email communication in the morning secured more reads
- Putting faces to the name
- Saying what you can’t say in writing
- Q and A
What didn’t work well
- Low attendance
- Too long
- Parts of the system not working
- Digital literacy at varying levels from participants
- Not always the info they were seeking
- Computer problems (no webcams or mic, slow processors)
- Room bookings required back and forth with the presenter and timetabling via a middle person
- Attendance lists were often missed and then sent through in various formats which would take time to upload to Mailchimp
- Some user-groups felt excluded
- Some users could not find the events and booking form
- Sometimes email follow-ups went out a week later (due to delay in material or poor time-management)
What are we going to do differently?
- Keep short 45mins recommended for webinars (1hr tops for face-to-face)
- Record and reshare
- Encourage more webinars (with polls to ensure engagement)
- Take more of a pedagogical approach rather than just technical?
- Send out calendar invites
- Setup two checklists (pre and post checklists)
- Look at channels we use to promote
Further Reading
Retrospectives – Prototypr
The 4 Questions of a Retrospective and Why They Work – InfoQ
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