26+ Most Popular Agile Retrospective Techniques
Agile Retrospective Techniques play a pivotal role in fostering continuous improvement within agile teams. These techniques allow teams to reflect on their processes, identify bottlenecks, and explore opportunities for growth.
Take a look on 26 templates that have been used 997,406 times 🚀
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Went Well - To Improve - Action Items
This technique is the most basic template you can use for your retrospective. It's very simple to use and understand. First, the team needs to brainstorm what went well in the previous sprint. After t...- Went Well- To Improve- Action Items - 0 uses
Start - Stop - Continue
Start Stop Continue is a great format to focus on the things that are working (continue), things that are not working (stop) and things that the team should start doing (start). It focus on the past, ...- Start- Stop- Continue - 0 uses
4Ls Retrospective
The 4Ls Retrospective model is an attempt to capture the natural thoughts that team members might have that can lead to continuous improvement. We naturally tend to think and share in terms of things ...- Liked- Learned- Lacked- Longed For - 0 uses
Thumbs up, Thumbs down, new ideas and recognition
The main idea is to pass the common retrospective dynamics like thumbs up and down. Including new ideas (team brainstorming) and recognition to continue grateful of people around.- 👍Thumbs up- 👎Thumbs down- 💡New Ideas- 🏆Recognition - 0 uses
Sailboat Retrospective
Image with a sailboat dragging an anchor heading towards rocks. This retrospective technique uses a sailboat as a metaphor for the team. The team identifies anchors (that are holding us back) and wind...- What is the wind pushing our sails that make us go fast- What anchors are holding us back- What rocks are ahead of us that risk our future- What is our ideal island destination - 0 uses
Mad Sad Glad
Mad Sad Glad is an example of an organization tool that is employed by a team in order to encourage discussion of pertinent issues. It is a great way to list down all the strengths that a team exhibit...- 😡 Mad- 😟 Sad- 😀 Glad - 0 uses
Lean Coffee
Having been started in Seattle in 2009, Lean Coffee is a new format of holding meetings. It is extremely easy to learn and to adopt. As with all other business operations, when the word “Lean” is asso...- To Discuss- Discussing- Discussed - 0 uses
Original 4
Norman Kerth created this technique and retrospectives as well.- What went well?- What didn’t go so well?- What have I learned?- What still puzzles me? - 0 uses
Starfish Retrospective
Better known as the Starfish retrospective, this technique was developed by Patrick Kua with the intention of helping teams carrying out a job better understand what they did wrong and how they can ma...- Keep Doing- Less Of- More of- Start Doing- Stop Doing - 0 uses
Three Little Pigs
Based on the story of the three little pigs and their quest for at strong house to live in.- House of StrawsThings that could easily fall apart- House of SticksThings that are working but could be improved- House of BricksThings that are stong and stable - 0 uses
Speed Car Retrospective
Simple retrospective using a Speed Car metaphor. Engine - Things that are moving is faster. Prachute - Things we believe are slowing us down and we can change.- EngineWhat make us move faster?- ParachuteWhat is slowing us down? - 0 uses
Happy - Meh - Sad
Very similar to Mad - Sad - Glad, but a little more focused on the sentiment graduation- Happy :)- Meh :|- Sad :( - 0 uses
Kudos Retrospective
This technique consists of the basic retrospective template (What went well, Things to improve and action items), but it adds an extra column for the team to create Kudo Cards to give recognition of a...- Kudos- Went well- To improve- Action items - 0 uses
Harry Potter
In this retrospective, your team will use Harry Potter spells and artifacts to brainstorm and improve. Felix Felicis! The good things that happened on the sprint. Baruffio's Brain Elixir! The things ...- Felix FelicisGood things!- Baruffio's Brain ElixirLearned!- Petrificus TotalusWhat slowed us down?!- Triwizard CupShout outs!- Action ItemsTake things into consideration - 0 uses
KALM Retrospective
Things that your team need to keep, things you need to add, things that you need more of and things you need less of.- Keep- Add- More- Less - 0 uses
Marie Kondo Method
This retrospective template was inspired by the KonMari method, created by Marie Kondo and described in her book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up".- Brings You JoyWhat went well, happy to keep- Throw OutWhat went wrong, don't want to keep- RecycleWhat you want to improve and reuse - 0 uses
Love - Want - Hate - Learn
Share what you love, want, hate and learn from the iteration phase- I love ...- I want to ...- I hate ...- Now, I know that - 0 uses
Game of Thrones
This retrospective format is inspired by the series Game of Thrones. Your team should reflect on what are you great at, what are the current issues on the team, what could make you better as a team an...- The castle(What are we great at?)- The hole(What are the current issues/problems?)- The wall(What could make us a better team? )- The White Walkers(What are the potential risks/challenges ?) - 0 uses
Sprint Diagnostics
A technique to analyse team's behavioural and technical changes, challenges, achievements over the sprint.- How was this Sprint? Rate 1-10 (communication, collaboration, quality, pressure?)- BIG LIKE event/or Big Dislike;- Is there anything we could do even better/differently?How?- Actions - 0 uses
3 L's
Accounts for what the team thought went well, what they learned and benefited from and what we can improve upon- Like- Learned- Lacked - 0 uses
Pros and Cons
At one point or the other, we are all faced with difficult decisions that require taking immediate action. Sometimes, we are even convinced that we know the best solution to a problem, so we make quic...- Pros- Cons - 0 uses
The Good - The Bad - The Ugly
Used for project retrospective for team members to share feedback - the good is what went well or worked well, the bad is what didn't go as planned or problems that surfaced, the ugly are things tha...- The GoodWhat went well or worked well- The BadWhat didn't go as planned or problems that surfaced- The UglyThings that the project team couldn't change but should allow folks to call out - 0 uses
DAKI
DAKI retrospective is a technique that allows a team to assess the areas that it needs to work on while also adopting new methodologies in the way they function. DAKI is an abbreviation for: Drop, Add...- Drop- Add- Keep- Improve - 0 uses
The Pacman
Based on this information, what could be some actions to improve?- What do we enjoy as a team?- What problems/challenges are we facing?- What’s the next exciting thing for us?- Actions - 0 uses
Hot Air Balloon Retrospective
Imagine your project is a hot-air balloon and there are a couple of forces in place. The sandbags and storms are the things holding the project back and the hot air and fire are pushing the project fo...- What helps us go higher? (hot hair)- What holds us back? (sandbags) - 0 uses
Post Mortem Retro
Retrospective on the XXX project, post mortem exercise to discuss all the good things about the project and how to improve for the next one. Please invite the team and all the stakeholders involved.- What we liked- What we missed- What I learned- For next time- Appreciations
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