Retrospectives

Flow-based retrospectives for b4arena. Unlike time-range reviews, these are anchored to development flows — coherent sequences from trigger to outcome.

Retro Lifecycle

1. Identify — Scan data streams (PRs, issues, sessions, learnings) for flows worth a retrospective. Run: /arena → "retro identify"
2. Register — Selected candidates get a skeleton document here with status: identified
3. Conduct — Gather targeted data, analyze patterns, persist findings. Run: /arena → "retro conduct "
4. Act — Actions link to GH issues. Track resolution via checkboxes.

Document Format

Each retro is a markdown file: YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>.md

Frontmatter fields:

• status: identified | in_progress | completed
• flow_type: design_cycle | issue_lifecycle | pr_flow | other
• dimensions: array of architecture | operations | coordination | quality
• identified_date / completed_date: lifecycle timestamps

Flow Types

Type	Description
design_cycle	End-to-end: question through architecture, implementation, deploy
issue_lifecycle	Discovery through resolution: agent finds problem, another resolves
pr_flow	How PRs moved through review, CI, merge
other	Anything that doesn't fit the above

Dimensions

Dimension	Examples
architecture	Design decisions, spec gaps, ADR outcomes
operations	Deployment issues, infra problems, agent health
coordination	Agent handoffs, work routing, review flow
quality	Test coverage, regressions, false completions