Retrospective by Axelle Vanquaillie
Retrospective means looking back. This retrospective template helps teams to reflect on what worked well, what didn't work well, and what they learned. In this template, we added a few other aspects, more specifically, the equipment, the atmosphere, etc...
The value of a retrospective lies in the initiatives and actions that follow the reflection and improve the team's performance sustainably.
5 tips for running a retrospective meeting:
1. Install a safe environment. Like with every team reflection exercise, ensuring a climate of psychological safety is crucial. Make sure everyone is and feels involved. Focus on learning and not on blaming. And agree on the confidentiality of the meeting: what happens there stays there.
2. Organize individual reflection and allow people to talk in pairs first before sharing with the larger group. Discuss the pain points, learnings, achievements, etc... theme per theme, and make sure every voice has been heard.
3. Start with the aspects that went well. Starting strong brings positive energy and helps you through the harder nuts to crack.
4. Help the team switch from problems to solutions by defining the learnings immediately after framing the obstacles.
5. Go from solution to action. Agree on which steps need to be taken and hold each other accountable. Make the actions and next steps feasible so you can celebrate successes.
This template was created by Axelle Vanquaillie.
Get started with this template right now.
Reflection Island: End of Year Team Retro
Works best for:
Retrospectives, Agile Methodology, Meetings
The Reflection Island: End of Year Team Retro template offers a creative and themed approach to retrospectives, perfect for wrapping up the year. It provides elements for reflecting on achievements, challenges, and goals using a tropical island theme. This template enables teams to celebrate successes, learn from setbacks, and set intentions for the upcoming year in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. By promoting reflection and celebration, the Reflection Island: End of Year Team Retro empowers teams to strengthen bonds, boost morale, and start the new year with renewed energy and focus effectively.
Mad Sad Glad Retrospective
Works best for:
Brainstorming, Ideation
It's tempting to measure a sprint’s success solely by whether goals and timelines were met. But there’s another important success metric: emotions. And Mad Sad Glad is a popular, effective technique for teams to explore and share their emotions after a sprint. That allows you to highlight the positive, underline the concerns, and decide how to move forward as a team. This template makes it easy to conduct a Mad Sad Glad that helps you build trust, improve team morale, and increase engagement.
Start, Stop, Continue Retrospective by Laura Timmins
Works best for:
Retrospectives, Agile Methodologies
The Retrospective template offers a flexible and customizable framework for teams to reflect on past experiences and identify areas for improvement. It provides elements for sharing successes, challenges, and action items. This template enables teams to facilitate constructive discussions, generate insights, and drive continuous improvement. By promoting reflection and collaboration, the Retrospective empowers teams to optimize performance and achieve their goals effectively.
Quick Retrospective Template
Works best for:
Education, Retrospectives, Meetings
A retrospective template empowers you to run insightful meetings, take stock of your work, and iterate effectively. The term “retrospective” has gained popularity over the more common “debriefing” and “post-mortem,” since it’s more value-neutral than the other terms. Some teams refer to these meetings as “sprint retrospectives” or “iteration retrospectives,” “agile retrospectives” or “iteration retrospectives.” Whether you are a scrum team, using the agile methodology, or doing a specific type of retrospective (e.g. a mad, sad, glad retrospective), the goals are generally the same: discovering what went well, identifying the root cause of problems you had, and finding ways to do better in the next iteration.
4 L's Retrospective Template
Works best for:
Retrospectives, Decision Making
So you just completed a sprint. Teams busted their humps and emotions ran high. Now take a clear-eyed look back and grade the sprint honestly—what worked, what didn’t, and what can be improved. This approach (4Ls stand for liked, learned, lacked, and longed for) is an invaluable way to remove the emotion and look at the process critically. That’s how you can build trust, improve morale, and increase engagement—as well as make adjustments to be more productive and successful in the future.
5Gs Retrospective
Works best for:
Agile Methodology, Retrospectives, Meetings
The 5Gs Retrospective template offers a structured approach for teams to reflect on their projects or iterations, focusing on five key aspects: Goals, Gains, Gratitude, Gaps, and Growth. It provides elements for identifying achievements, expressing gratitude, and addressing areas for improvement. This template enables teams to conduct retrospectives systematically, fostering a culture of learning, appreciation, and continuous improvement. By emphasizing the five dimensions of reflection, the 5Gs Retrospective empowers teams to optimize their performance, enhance collaboration, and achieve their goals effectively.