Make a FOCOL Point!

Have you ever wondered whether your retrospective format was actually effective at fueling learning and improvement? Are you ready to try something different?

“FOCOL Point” is Idea Flow Learning Framework’s “stop and think” protocol. It’s a reflection technique based on the scientific method, action learning, and the socratic method. It works just as well for team reflection, personal reflection, or mentorship. As opposed to searching for answers, the FOCOL Point method helps us find the right questions.

Once I walk through the protocol as a group, we’ll make a “FOCOL Point” as a group.

First, we’ll identify the biggest software problems faced by the audience using the “flashstorming” technique. Then we’ll focus on the top problems of the group and start digging into the details by walking through a group-adapted version of the stop and think protocol:

1. Focus: What’s the outcome we’re trying to understand?
2. Observe: What patterns do we see? (for all pattern types)
3. Conclude: What major factors seemed to cause the outcome?
4. Optimize: How could we have made better decisions?
5. Learn: What questions could we ask ourselves to recognize future risks?

Amplify your learning by reflecting more productively on your own or with your team! You can immediately apply this technique on your own projects.