Reduce bias in retrospectives with better data

Retrospectives in software organizations often rely heavily on subjective data from participants, leading to skewed insights that may not align with broader organizational goals. Studies suggest incorporating hard data from diverse sources into retrospectives to counteract cognitive biases such as recency and confirmation bias, which can result in false insights and ineffective actions. The blog post advocates for a structured six-step retrospective process that includes the explicit presentation of hard data, enhancing focus, reliability, and insight generation by reducing personal biases. It emphasizes the importance of using automated data sources to maintain up-to-date information, citing examples from Swarmia's approach, which utilizes a combination of OKRs, customer reports, sales pipeline data, and a work log. The ultimate goal is to blend hard data with personal experiences to foster more productive teams and effective decision-making, while also acknowledging the value of retrospectives focused solely on personal experiences in certain contexts.