Quick Retrospective Template
Look back at successes and failures to improve everyday practices with the retrospective template.
About the Quick Retrospective Template
A retrospective template helps structure positive and negative feedback and plan improvements after a completed project or a working sprint. This quick retrospective template focuses on four main areas:
Continue (what helped us move forward?)
Stop (what held us back?)
Invent (how could we do things differently?)
Act (what should be do next?)
Teams run retrospectives online to reflect on their ways of working and continuously improve their production by discussing current problems and goals, brainstorming new ideas, and exploring which actions need to happen to keep moving forward.
What is a retrospective template?
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.
3 benefits of using an Agile retrospective template
Miro's quick retrospective template helps your team solve problems and improve productivity by discussing the challenges you encountered during a sprint. One of the benefits of the retrospective format is that it gives equal power to all team members to open up and present their views.
Here are a few more benefits of using the quick sprint retrospective template:
1. Keeps the retrospective organized
Using a scrum retrospective template helps you avoid common pitfalls. For example, the goal of the retrospective is to brainstorm areas of improvement, but some employees may use the meeting simply to air their grievances. The template functions as a project management tool that allows you to stay on track and bring everyone back to your central questions: What did we do well? How can we improve? What helped us move forward?
2. Incorporates feedback from different perspectives
Moreover, noting these central questions can empower participants to speak up. Use the quick retrospective template to foster an environment in which every member of the team feels comfortable sharing their ideas. The retrospective template is also a good exercise to analyze what held your team back and how you could do things differently.
3. Boosts efficiency and set actions
Equally important, the template increases efficiency and cuts down on resource usage. Retrospective meetings tend to be costly since they demand time and attention from various stakeholders. Using the retrospective template can help you prepare for the meeting, keep everyone on task, and clarify action items and what to do next. You can quickly refer to previous retrospective templates to ensure you’re not discussing a redundant topic.
How to use the retrospective template in Miro
Miro's quick retrospective template can help make your next sprints more productive. Here are some tips for using the retrospective template during your next retro:
1. Add the template to your board
Share the retrospective template with team members prior to the meeting so they can already start thinking about their feedback and ideas. During the meeting, have team members add their thoughts on sticky notes in the respective sections. This can be done using private mode to reduce bias and groupthink.
2. Discuss as a group
Once everyone has added their thoughts, go through each section. Discuss each point, grouping similar items to identify common themes or issues. You can use Miro's voting feature to prioritize topics if there are too many to discuss in detail. Each team member can cast votes on the items they feel are most important.
3. Assign action items
Identify actionable steps based on the discussion. Assign owners and deadlines for each action item to ensure accountability.
4. Review and share
By using the scrum retrospective template every time you run a retro, you can keep the meeting focused to maintain energy and engagement. Share the filled-in template with all team members and stakeholders to document the outcomes of the retrospective. You can also include other file types such as images, videos, GIFs, and documents to store everything in one place.
Explore our comprehensive guide to retrospectives to ensure that you maximize the potential of every team session.
Why do I need a retrospective template?
A retrospective or scrum retrospective template allows you and your team to analyze what worked well and what didn’t in a given project or working sprint. The visual representation of the retrospective contains fields for you and your team to add their points of view on how good or bad the sprint or project was. The sprint retrospective template makes it easy to collect feedback and action items for future discussions.
How do you write a retrospective template?
There is not a ready-made formula when it comes to how to write a retrospective. One of the essential factors for a good retrospective template is that it looks organized, and everyone inside your team can add their points of view and ideas. Be mindful to write objectively and keep it solution-oriented.
What should I say in a retrospective meeting?
The retrospective meeting should be a safe space for you to expose ideas and come up with solutions. When participating in a sprint retrospective, it’s important to stay as objective as possible. That way, you and your team can improve processes and the way you work together. If a misunderstanding or emotions come to the surface, try to be curious and embrace this state of mind without giving room for venting grievances. Rather, share how you feel and why you feel that way and encourage others to do the same.
How do I ensure that a quick retrospective template remains effective?
Keep the retrospective focused and time-boxed. Ensure that discussions are constructive and action items are specific, measurable, and achievable.
Can I customize the quick Retrospective template to suit my team's needs?
It is easy to customize the template to meet your team's specific goals, dynamics, and preferences. You can simply double-click the quick retrospective template components to change them based on your needs.
Penny Game
Works best for:
Agile
The Penny Game is a simulation exercise that illustrates the impact of batch size and work in progress on cycle time and throughput. By tracking the flow of pennies through a production system, teams learn how to identify bottlenecks, optimize processes, and improve efficiency. This template offers a practical way to explore Lean principles and drive continuous improvement, empowering teams to streamline their workflow and deliver value more predictably.
The 4-Step Retrospective
Works best for:
Retrospectives, Agile Methodology, Meetings
The 4-Step Retrospective template offers a simple yet effective framework for conducting retrospectives. It provides steps for reflecting on what went well, what didn't go well, what could be improved, and action planning. This template enables teams to systematically review past iterations, identify areas for growth, and implement actionable improvements. By promoting a structured approach to reflection and improvement, the 4-Step Retrospective empowers teams to drive continuous learning and enhancement effectively.
Impact/Effort Matrix Template
Works best for:
Project Management, Strategic Planning, Prioritization
Growing organizations have countless to-do’s and only so many hours in a day (or weeks before a big launch) to get them done. That’s where an impact effort matrix comes in. It gives you a quick visual guide to help prioritize your tasks and know exactly what’s worth doing. Using our template, you can create a matrix that organizes your activities into four main categories: quick wins that are low effort, effort-intensive projects that provide long-term returns, fill-ins that are low effort but low value, and time-wasters.
What? So What? Now What? Template
Works best for:
Agile Workflows, Retrospectives, Brainstorming
The What? So What? Now What? Framework empowers you to uncover gaps in your understanding and learn from others’ perspectives. You can use the What? So What? Now What? Template to guide yourself or a group through a reflection exercise. Begin by thinking of a specific event or situation. During each phase, ask guiding questions to help participants reflect on their thoughts and experience. Working with your team, you can then utilize the template to record your ideas and to guide the experience.
Product Discovery Ideation Session
Works best for:
Agile
The Product Discovery Ideation Session template fosters creativity and innovation in product development. By providing a structured framework for brainstorming ideas, exploring user needs, and generating solutions, this template fuels ideation sessions. With sections for user persona development, problem validation, and idea prioritization, it guides teams through the product discovery process, ensuring that solutions are aligned with user needs and market opportunities. This template serves as a catalyst for generating and refining innovative product ideas.
I Like | I Wish | I Wonder
Works best for:
Agile
Feedback is a key part of any project development and crucial to the iterative process.