Retrospective formats guide
Running Start/Stop/Continue every sprint is the fastest way to kill engagement. Here are 12 formats worth rotating through — and when each one earns its place.
Start / Stop / Continue
When to use it: Default for new teams or noisy sprints. Low cognitive load.
How to run it: Three columns. 5 min silent ideation, 10 min grouping, dot vote, discuss top 3.
4Ls — Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for
When to use it: End of project or major release. Reflective tone.
How to run it: Four quadrants. Encourages emotional and learning-oriented input, not just process.
Sailboat
When to use it: When team morale is mixed and you want a visual metaphor.
How to run it: Anchors (what slows us), wind (what helps), rocks (risks), island (goal). Great for visual thinkers.
Mad / Sad / Glad
When to use it: When emotional safety is high and trust needs reinforcing.
How to run it: Three columns by emotion. Powerful for surfacing interpersonal friction early.
DAKI — Drop, Add, Keep, Improve
When to use it: When the team is improvement-focused and time-boxed.
How to run it: Direct and action-biased. Excellent when you want concrete commitments.
Lean Coffee
When to use it: Sprints with no clear theme. Lets the team set the agenda.
How to run it: Generate topics, dot vote, discuss top items in 5-min boxes with thumbs vote to extend.
Lightning Decision Jam
When to use it: When retros keep producing lists but no decisions.
How to run it: Identify problems → reframe as challenges → solutions → effort/impact → action plan in 60 min.
Glad / Sad / Mad / Afraid
When to use it: Post-incident or after a difficult quarter.
How to run it: Adds 'Afraid' to surface unspoken risks. Use sparingly — emotionally heavy.
The Three Little Pigs
When to use it: Discussing technical debt or fragility.
How to run it: Straw (will collapse), sticks (shaky), bricks (solid). Great for engineering teams.
WRAP — Worked, Restricted, Achieved, Plan
When to use it: Quarterly or release retros for senior teams.
How to run it: Strategic flavour. Surfaces blockers and forward-looking commitments.
Appreciation Retro
When to use it: After heroic effort, before holidays, or when burnout is rising.
How to run it: Each member writes appreciations for every other member. Read aloud. Skip 'what to improve' entirely.
Futurespective
When to use it: Before kicking off a new initiative.
How to run it: Imagine the project is over and successful — work backwards. Surfaces hidden assumptions.