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Phase 5 – Retrospective and Expansion

This document defines how to close the loop, capture learnings, and propose next steps after initial delivery. It is written for project managers, architects, and customer success teams conducting retrospectives and planning expansion.

Phase 5 focuses on learning from the engagement, measuring outcomes, identifying expansion opportunities, and capturing knowledge for future engagements. The goal is continuous improvement and growth.

Tip

Retrospectives are valuable for both ConnectSoft and customers. Invest time in honest reflection and actionable improvements. Capture learnings in ADRs/BDRs for future reference.

Objectives of Phase 5

The objectives of Phase 5 are to:

  • Measure Outcomes - Assess what was delivered and value created
  • Capture Learnings - Document what worked, what didn't, and why
  • Identify Improvements - Find opportunities to improve process and delivery
  • Plan Expansion - Identify opportunities to expand engagement
  • Share Knowledge - Capture knowledge for Factory and future engagements

Retrospective Meeting Template

Meeting Structure (60-90 minutes)

1. What Worked Well (20 minutes)

Factory & Squads: - [ ] What Factory capabilities were most valuable? - [ ] Which agents were most effective? - [ ] How did Squad delivery meet expectations? - [ ] What starters/libraries were most useful?

Platforms: - [ ] Which platforms provided most value? - [ ] How did platform integration go? - [ ] What platform features were most useful?

Process: - [ ] What processes worked well? - [ ] What communication patterns were effective? - [ ] What tools and workflows helped?

2. What Didn't Work (20 minutes)

Challenges: - [ ] What were the biggest challenges? - [ ] Where did Factory/Squads fall short? - [ ] What platform issues did you encounter? - [ ] What process issues did you face?

Root Causes: - [ ] Why did these challenges occur? - [ ] What could have prevented them? - [ ] What assumptions were wrong?

3. Where AI Helped Most (10 minutes)

AI Value: - [ ] Where did AI agents provide most value? - [ ] What tasks were AI agents best at? - [ ] How did AI accelerate delivery? - [ ] What AI capabilities were most impressive?

4. Where Human Work Was Critical (10 minutes)

Human Value: - [ ] Where was human review essential? - [ ] What decisions required human judgment? - [ ] What work couldn't be automated? - [ ] How did human-AI collaboration work?

5. Improvements and Next Steps (20 minutes)

Improvements: - [ ] What would you do differently next time? - [ ] What process improvements are needed? - [ ] What tool improvements would help? - [ ] What training or documentation is needed?

Next Steps: - [ ] What are the immediate next steps? - [ ] What expansion opportunities exist? - [ ] What follow-up work is needed?

Measuring Outcomes

Key Metrics

Time to Value: - Time from kickoff to first running service - Time from kickoff to production deployment - Time to first customer value

Delivery Metrics: - Number of microservices delivered - Number of Factory runs executed - Code quality metrics (test coverage, architecture compliance) - Platform integrations completed

Customer Satisfaction: - Customer satisfaction score - Net Promoter Score (NPS) - Customer feedback and testimonials

See: Factory Strategic Goals for Factory goals.

See: 2026 Roadmap for roadmap metrics.

Example Metrics (Employment Services Scenario)

Time Metrics: - First microservice delivered: 2 weeks - MVP deployed to staging: 4 months - Production deployment: 6 months

Delivery Metrics: - Microservices delivered: 5 - Factory runs executed: 15 - Platform integrations: 3 (Identity, Audit, Config) - Test coverage: 85% average

Customer Satisfaction: - Overall satisfaction: 4.5/5 - Would recommend: Yes - Key feedback: "Faster than expected, quality exceeded expectations"

Identifying Expansion Opportunities

Additional Bounded Contexts

Potential Expansions: - Reporting & Analytics - Advanced analytics and reporting - Notifications - Email, SMS, push notifications - Workflow Engine - Business process automation - Document Management - Document storage and management

Platform Expansions

Additional Platforms: - Bot Platform - If not already adopted, add conversational interface - Advanced Audit - Enhanced audit capabilities - Advanced Config - More sophisticated feature flags

See: Product Portfolio - Platforms for platform details.

Deeper Integrations

Integration Opportunities: - Payment Processing - Deeper payment integration - CRM Integration - Enhanced CRM integration - Marketing Automation - Marketing tool integration - Analytics Platforms - Advanced analytics integration

See: External SaaS Integration Patterns for integration patterns.

Expansion Proposal Template

Expansion Proposal:

  1. Current State - What was delivered
  2. Expansion Opportunities - What could be added
  3. Value Proposition - Why expand now
  4. Scope and Timeline - What's included, how long
  5. Pricing - Expansion pricing
  6. Next Steps - How to proceed

Capturing Learnings for the Factory

Knowledge Capture

Create ADRs for: - Architecture decisions that worked well - Patterns that should be reused - Anti-patterns to avoid - Technology choices and rationale

Create BDRs for: - Business decisions about scope or approach - Pricing or commercial learnings - Customer engagement patterns

See: Decision Records Process for ADR/BDR process.

See: Knowledge & Memory System for knowledge system.

Template Improvements

Document Template Improvements: - What templates worked well? - What templates need improvement? - What new templates are needed? - What template features are missing?

See: Contributing Templates for template contribution.

Library Improvements

Document Library Improvements: - What libraries were most useful? - What libraries need improvement? - What new libraries are needed? - What library features are missing?

See: Contributing Libraries for library contribution.

Process Improvements

Document Process Improvements: - What processes worked well? - What processes need improvement? - What new processes are needed? - What tools or workflows would help?

Tip

Capture Learnings: Create ADR/BDR entries for key lessons learned. This helps the Factory learn and improves future engagements. Don't let valuable learnings go undocumented.