Retrospectives

When to Use

• Running a sprint retrospective
• Facilitating a quarterly or project-level retrospective
• Choosing a retro format for a specific team situation
• Following up on retro action items
• Recognizing patterns across multiple retros
• Improving a team's retro culture when retros feel stale or unproductive

Core Principles

1. Psychological safety first — People must feel safe to be honest. No blame, no retaliation.
2. Actionable outcomes — Every retro produces 1–3 concrete action items with owners and deadlines.
3. Variety keeps engagement — Rotate formats to prevent retro fatigue.
4. Follow through — Start every retro by reviewing last retro's action items. Nothing kills retro culture faster than ignored actions.
5. Timebox — 60 minutes for a sprint retro, 90 minutes for a quarterly retro. Respect the clock.

Sprint Retrospective (60 minutes)

Standard Flow

Ground Rules (share at start)

• What's said in retro stays in retro
• Focus on process and systems, not individuals
• Everyone participates — no spectators
• Disagree respectfully; assume good intent
• The goal is improvement, not venting

Retro Formats

Rotate formats every 2–4 sprints to keep things fresh.

1. Start / Stop / Continue

Best for: General-purpose, new teams, quick retros

2. 4Ls (Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For)

Best for: After a major release or project milestone

3. Mad / Sad / Glad

Best for: Emotional check-in after a tough sprint, or when morale seems low

4. Sailboat

Best for: Visual thinkers, identifying forces helping and hindering the team

Draw a sailboat:

• Wind (sails): What propelled us forward?
• Anchor: What held us back?
• Rocks (underwater): What risks do we see ahead?
• Island (destination): Where are we trying to go?

5. Timeline

Best for: Quarterly retros or after a long project

Create a timeline of the sprint/quarter. Team adds sticky notes for:

• Highs (green) — moments of success or energy
• Lows (red) — moments of frustration or failure
• Key events (blue) — incidents, launches, decisions

Discuss patterns in the timeline.

6. One-Word Check-In + Fishbowl

Best for: Large teams (8+), deep-dive on a specific topic

1. Everyone shares one word describing the sprint
2. Facilitator picks the dominant theme
3. 3–4 volunteers discuss in a "fishbowl" (inner circle) while others observe
4. Outer circle can rotate in

Quarterly Retrospective (90 minutes)

Purpose

A quarterly retro looks at patterns across sprints, not individual sprint issues. It's about systemic improvements.

Agenda

Action Item Tracking

Format

## Retro Action Items — Sprint [N] / Q[N]

| # | Action | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|---|--------|-------|----------|--------|
| 1 | [Action] | @name | YYYY-MM-DD | Open |
| 2 | [Action] | @name | YYYY-MM-DD | Open |
| 3 | [Action] | @name | YYYY-MM-DD | Open |

Rules

• Max 3 action items per retro — More than 3 won't get done
• Every action has an owner — Shared ownership means no ownership
• Every action has a due date — "Sometime" means never
• Review at next retro — First agenda item, every time
• Track completion rate — If <50% of actions complete, you have a follow-through problem

Facilitation Tips

1. Rotate the facilitator — Don't always facilitate yourself as EM. Give team members the opportunity.
2. Use a timer — Visible countdown keeps discussions on track.
3. Silent brainstorming first — Give 5 minutes of silent writing before discussion. This prevents anchoring and gives introverts space.
4. Dot vote for prioritization — Each person gets 3 votes to place on themes. Discuss the top 2–3.
5. Remote-friendly tools — Use a collaborative whiteboard tool (Miro, FigJam, or equivalent) for distributed teams.
6. As the manager, speak last — Your opinions carry weight; let the team share first.

Anti-Patterns