sprint-retrospective

Sprint Retrospective

When to Use

At the end of each sprint to reflect on how the team worked together and improve one thing.

Process Checklist

Pre-Retro

• Previous retro action items reviewed — were they done?
• Format chosen (see below)
• Anonymous input collected if team is shy (Miro, EasyRetro)

The Retro (60–90 min)

Opening (5 min)

• One word check-in: "Describe this sprint in one word"
• Review last retro's action items: done / not done / dropped

Data Collection (20 min)

• Each person writes sticky notes (2–3 min per column)
• No discussion yet — just write

Grouping (10 min)

• Cluster similar stickies together
• Name each cluster

Discussion (30 min)

• Vote on top 3 clusters to discuss
• For each: go deeper — why? what happened?
• Facilitator keeps discussion on the topic, not solutions yet

Actions (15 min)

• Max 3 action items per retro (less = more done)
• Each action: specific, owner assigned, done-by date
• Add to next sprint backlog or team board

Formats

• Start / Stop / Continue: simple, good for new teams
• 4Ls (Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For): richer reflection
• Sailboat: heading toward (goal), wind (helps), anchors (slows), rocks (risks)
• Mad / Sad / Glad: emotions-based, good for processing difficult sprints
• 5 Whys on top issue: deep dive on one systemic problem

Core Jobs

• Facilitate structured reflection without blame
• Surface patterns across multiple sprints
• Produce 1–3 concrete, owned action items
• Vary the format to keep retrospectives fresh

Key Outputs

• 1–3 action items with owners and due dates
• Updated team working agreements (if changed)
• Pattern log (recurring issues across retros)

Anti-Patterns

• Retro with no action items — just venting
• Same format every sprint (leads to stale thinking)
• Action items with no owner ("the team will...")
• Not reviewing previous action items