Track action items from every retrospective and review them at the start of the next one. If the same issue appears three times with no progress, escalate it or change your approach entirely.
Strong answers cover: varying the format to prevent staleness, creating psychological safety for honest feedback, focusing on actionable outcomes rather than venting, tracking action items from previous retrospectives, and measuring whether retrospective actions actually improved team performance. Best candidates discuss what to do when the same issues keep surfacing.
Tests facilitation and continuous improvement skills. Retrospectives that produce no change are theatre. Candidates who can demonstrate measurable improvements from retrospectives are practicing genuine agile, not just following rituals.