Install the extension from a VSIX
NABS Confidence is not on the VS Code Marketplace. Someone on your team gives you a .vsix file. In the Extensions view, open the … menu and choose Install from VSIX….
User guide
Retrospectives that live in the repository
NABS Confidence is a VS Code extension from Net Advantage Business Solutions that gives teams confidence. It is built as modules; today that is Retros, and a Releases module is planned. A retro is a date-stamped Markdown file in the repository the team is working in. Feedback sits beside it. GitHub Copilot can suggest a summary or an assessment. The team decides what to keep.
In this guide
Each card opens one part of the guide. The same list stays on the left of every page.
Getting startedWhat it is, what you need, how to install a VSIX, and a first retro.
ConceptsWhy retros are Markdown, the maturity curve, objectives, and what Copilot is for.
HomeThe landing page: objectives that need review, and the next retro.
Running a retroThe Retro Dashboard and its six stages. Prepare and Gather are guided today.
Feedback and GatherAdd feedback in your own file, mark yourself done, and the feedback lock.
Objectives and assessmentsCriteria, automatic measures, Copilot’s suggestion, and the team’s verdict.
Action itemsOwned actions, and GitHub issues the next retro can check.
Copilot ChatAsk
@retro about the latest retro, the feedback, or the objectives.
ArchivePost a finished retro to a GitHub Discussion, then remove the files if you want.
SettingsEvery setting, with the default from this version of the extension.
ActivitiesEverything the extension does, how to start each activity, and what you should see.
Test coverage and confidenceWhich tests cover each activity, how confident we are in releasing it, and what is not covered.
TroubleshootingGitHub sign-in, Copilot, locked feedback, and the things that are not built yet.
How to begin
Open the repository and click the rocket
Open the folder the team works in (a Git repository on github.com is the useful case). The NABS rocket in the Activity Bar opens the Retros view, and Home opens with it when nothing else is open.
Write an objective, then a retro
An objective is what the team is aiming for. A retro checks the work of one period against the objectives you choose. Start with either button on Home.
Two ideas to keep in mind
The meeting can be more than a ritual
The extension is built around four stages: Ritual, Reflection, Realignment and Reinvention. Gathering feedback is the start. The later stages ask why, check the team’s objectives, and share what leaders need to hear.
Copilot suggests. The team decides.
Copilot is optional. With it off, you still get the Git numbers, the feedback grouped by type, and a place to record evidence and a verdict. When it is on, it suggests. It does not record the team’s verdict for you.