In Agile retrospectives, the Gather Data phase is crucial for surfacing the team’s experiences and setting the foundation for meaningful insights and actionable outcomes. This phase involves exploring what went well, what didn’t, and what requires attention, ensuring everyone’s perspectives are heard and acknowledged. One effective and straightforward way to structure this phase is the Good Bad Ugly Method. This method categorizes team experiences into three actionable buckets:
- Good: Things that are working well and should be repeated or amplified.
- Bad: Activities, practices, or behaviors that hinder progress and should stop.
- Ugly: Problematic areas that need improvement but have potential with the right solutions.
In this article, we’ll explore the challenges of the “Gather Data” phase, how the Good Bad Ugly Method addresses them, and how AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot can make this phase more effective.
Challenges in the “Gather Data” Phase
The “Gather Data” phase often encounters several hurdles that can limit its effectiveness:
1. Incomplete Picture
Not all team members may feel comfortable sharing their perspectives, leading to a skewed or incomplete understanding of what happened during the sprint.
2. Vague Input
Participants might provide generic feedback without diving into specific examples, making it difficult to identify actionable insights.
3. Focus on Negatives
Teams often gravitate toward discussing what went wrong, overshadowing the positive aspects that should be celebrated or repeated.
4. Overwhelm with Problems
When too many issues surface without structure, it can feel overwhelming to prioritize and address them effectively.
5. Missed Opportunities for Improvement
Suboptimal processes or behaviors may be acknowledged but dismissed as “too hard to fix,” leaving potential solutions unexplored.
The Good, Bad, Ugly Method: A Simple and Effective Framework
The Good, Bad, Ugly Method helps teams categorize their experiences in a structured way, encouraging a balanced discussion of successes, failures, and areas for improvement.
How It Works
Good: Identify practices, behaviors, or results that worked well during the sprint. These are the things to celebrate, repeat, or amplify in future iterations.
Bad: Highlight actions or processes that didn’t work and should be stopped or changed. These are the clear-cut “don’ts” for the team.
Ugly: Focus on issues that are problematic but not beyond repair. These areas require discussion and creativity to find solutions and improve.
Benefits of the Method
- Encourages a balanced discussion by covering positives, negatives, and opportunities for improvement.
- Simplifies categorization, making it easy for all participants to contribute.
- Drives actionable outcomes by focusing on what to repeat, stop, and fix.
How to Implement the Good, Bad, Ugly Method
Step 1: Prepare the Framework
Set up a visual board (physical or virtual) with three columns or sections labeled Good, Bad, and Ugly. Ensure everyone has access to sticky notes, markers, or digital tools to share their inputs.
Step 2: Explain the Categories
Provide examples for each category to help participants understand:
- Good: “Completing all user stories ahead of schedule was a major win.”
- Bad: “Daily standups ran too long and distracted from development time.”
- Ugly: “The new testing framework caused delays but might improve with adjustments.”
Step 3: Gather Input
Ask participants to contribute their thoughts, categorizing them under Good, Bad, or Ugly. Encourage specific examples to avoid vague feedback. For example: Instead of “Communication was bad,” suggest “Important updates weren’t shared during the sprint.”
Step 4: Review and Discuss
Facilitate a discussion around each category:
- Celebrate the Good items and explore how to replicate or expand them.
- Analyze the Bad items to determine what should be stopped or changed.
- Dive into the Ugly items to brainstorm solutions or improvements.
How AI Tools Can Enhance the Good, Bad, Ugly Method
AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot can make the Good, Bad, Ugly Method more efficient, engaging, and insightful at every stage:
1. Supporting Participants in Contributing Specific Input
AI can help participants articulate their thoughts more clearly and effectively:
- Generate Prompts: ChatGPT can craft targeted prompts to inspire contributions:
- “What’s one thing that worked really well during this sprint?”
- “Which process felt frustrating or counterproductive?”
- “What’s an area where you see potential for improvement?”
- Refine Feedback: Participants can use AI to turn vague thoughts into actionable statements. For example: Input: “Meetings took too long.” ChatGPT Suggestion: “Daily standups often ran over the 15-minute timebox, impacting focus time.”
2. Analyzing Input for Patterns
AI tools can analyze the team’s contributions and identify recurring themes:
- “Three participants mentioned delays in code reviews as a Bad item—this may need immediate attention.”
- “Two Ugly items focus on tool inefficiencies. Consider dedicating time to exploring tool improvements.”
3. Brainstorming Solutions for “Ugly” Items
The Ugly category often requires creative problem-solving. ChatGPT can assist by generating solution ideas: Input: “Our testing framework caused delays.” ChatGPT Suggestion: “Consider scheduling a training session on the new framework to reduce learning curves or creating a step-by-step guide for common testing scenarios.”
4. Prioritizing Issues
Once all items are gathered, AI can help prioritize them based on team input:
- “Good: Focus on expanding practices that had the most positive impact.”
- “Bad: Stop processes that caused the most frustration or delays.”
- “Ugly: Assign owners to each Ugly item and brainstorm feasible solutions for high-priority issues.”
5. Facilitating Next Steps
AI can generate summaries and actionable steps based on the discussion: “Based on the Good, Bad, Ugly discussion, the team will continue its proactive approach to completing user stories, stop running overlong standups, and improve the testing framework with a training session.”
Using the Results for the Next Phases
The insights gathered in the Good, Bad, Ugly Method inform the subsequent phases of the retrospective:
Generate Insights
For Good Items: Explore why these successes worked well and how they can be scaled or repeated. For example: “What enabled us to complete all user stories early?”
For Bad Items: Identify root causes and patterns behind these issues. AI tools can suggest follow-up questions to explore: “What’s causing standups to run over time? Is it a lack of agenda, late arrivals, or unrelated discussions?”
For Ugly Items: Brainstorm potential solutions and involve the team in evaluating their feasibility.
Decide What to Do
Turn each item into an actionable task:
Good: “Schedule regular knowledge-sharing sessions to replicate the early delivery success.”
Bad: “Set a timer for standups and designate a facilitator to keep discussions focused.”
Ugly: “Pilot a simplified testing framework process and gather feedback from the team.”
Review Progress in the Next Sprint
During the next retrospective, revisit the Good, Bad, Ugly outcomes to evaluate progress:
- “Were the improvements to the testing framework effective?”
- “Did the changes to standup meetings resolve the timing issue?”
Conclusion
The Good, Bad, Ugly Method is a powerful way to structure the Gather Data phase, ensuring balanced feedback and actionable insights. With the help of AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot, facilitators can streamline the process, clarify input, and guide the team toward productive discussions and meaningful outcomes.
Streamline Your Retrospectives with Ready-to-Use Templates
Take it a step further with our editable Good Bad Ugly Template, designed to seamlessly integrate AI-powered insights into your retrospective workflow. Whether you’re working in-person or remotely, this slide deck makes it easy to apply the method, ensure balanced participation, and keep your team focused on actionable outcomes.
To make your retrospectives even easier, we’ve created this ready-to-use, editable PowerPoint slide deck featuring the Good Bad Ugly Method. The template includes:
- Visual representations of good bad ugly.
- Space for adding topics and notes directly on the slides.
- Guidance for facilitating the activity, whether in-person or virtual.
This template will save you time, foster engagement, and ensure a productive start to every retrospective.
Get Your Editable Good Bad Ugly Template Now!