ThoughtWorkers write loads of books, and I’m too lazy to make a habit out of reading, reviewing, and plugging them all. So given that I’ve gotten off my ass (erm, well, not literally of course) to tout Pat Kua’s new book, The Retrospective Handbook, you can be assured it’s not a rote act of loyalty to my colleagues.

As Pat says, if you were to pick only one agile practice to adopt, retrospectives are it. It’s the engine a team uses to identify and address ways to improve performance, so regular retrospectives become the forum to work out which other practices would be helpful, how to adjust they way they’re being used, and which ones are getting in the way or just unnecessary.

If you’ve tried retrospectives but not gotten as much out of them as the above bold claim suggests, Pat’s book could be for you. Everything in it is refreshingly practical and actionable for such a potentially hand-wavy, touchy-feely subject. It ranges from high level topics and techniques, through to dealing with common problems such as lack of action afterwards, to nuts and bolts details about the materials to use.

If you want a more detailed review of the book, check out our other colleague Mark Needham’s review. Then get the book itself!

And, yeah, check out the stuff our other colleagues have written as well. I may be too lazy to write them all up, but they’re quality stuff.