Retro: Pac-Man Edition

The Retrospective Pac-Man template offers a fun theme for your team to reflect on the past to improve the future. The 1980’s Pac-Man maze game is a familiar pastime and parallels perfectly with a common retrospective format: 

• What went well

• What should we do more of

• Was there any blockers

• What should we do differently

When to use the Pac-Man retro template?

This template is meant for retrospective meetings when reflecting on a project lifecycle, the past month of work, an agile sprint, etc. 

How does the template work?

• Set a timer for 10 or more minutes for participants to fill out the board (see details below).

• After the exercise is over, do a round table and ask what sticky notes your team wants to highlight. 

• Group sticky notes together that are similar or are the same topic. 

• Option to write sticky notes for key takeaways below the board.

The retrospective template covers four main areas when identifying areas to learn and improve:

1. What went well

2. Pac-Man/Ms. Pac-Man: This is the team trying to eat as many dots as possible. Grab a sticky note and write what went well 

3. What we should do more of

4. Pellets/food: This is the team collecting pellets and food that sustains the team. Grab a sticky note and record what we should do more of

5. Was there any blockers

6. Ghosts: The ghosts are blockers. What stopped or held us back from achieving our goals? Grab a sticky note and record any blockers.

7. What we should do differently

8. Lives: In Pac-Man, you have multiple lives to try again. How would you change your approach with multiple lives, what would you do differently? Grab a sticky note and record what we should do differently.