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.
Start, Stop, Continue Template
Works best for:
Retrospectives, Meetings, Workshops
Giving and receiving feedback can be challenging and intimidating. It’s hard to look back over a quarter or even a week and parse a set of decisions into “positive” and “negative.” The Start Stop Continue framework was created to make it easier to reflect on your team’s recent experiences. The Start Stop Continue template encourages teams to look at specific actions they should start doing, stop doing, and continue doing. Together, collaborators agree on the most important steps to be more productive and successful.
Meeting Reflection Template
Works best for:
Meetings, Brainstorming, Team Meetings
When schedules get hectic, “learning by doing” becomes the default way to learn. So make time for your team to learn in other valuable ways — by reflecting and listening. Led by “learners,” (team members who share with the rest of the team), a meeting reflection lets teammates share new information about a client’s business or an internal business initiative, offer problem-solving techniques, or even recommend books or podcasts worth checking out. Meeting reflections also encourage colleagues at all levels to engage in each other’s professional development of their teammates.
Project Retrospective
Works best for:
Retrospectives, Agile Methodology
The Project Retrospective template offers a structured approach for teams to review project performance and identify areas for enhancement. It provides elements for reflecting on project goals, milestones, successes, and challenges. This template enables teams to evaluate project outcomes, learn from experiences, and implement process improvements. By promoting reflection and accountability, the Project Retrospective empowers teams to optimize project delivery and drive continuous improvement effectively.
Agile Retrospective
Works best for:
Retrosprective, Agile Methodology, Meetings
The Agile Retrospective template offers a dynamic and adaptive framework for teams practicing agile methodologies. It provides elements for reflecting on sprint performance, identifying bottlenecks, and planning improvements. This template enables teams to adapt and refine their processes continuously, fostering a culture of learning and innovation. By promoting agility and adaptability, the Agile Retrospective empowers teams to optimize their workflows, drive continuous improvement, and deliver value to their stakeholders effectively.
Starfish Retrospective
Works best for:
Retrospectives, Agile Methodology, Meetings
The Starfish Retrospective template offers a structured approach to retrospectives using the metaphor of a starfish. It provides elements for identifying what to start, stop, continue, do more of, and do less of. This template enables teams to reflect on past iterations, identify actionable insights, and prioritize improvements. By promoting clarity and focus, the Starfish Retrospective empowers teams to drive meaningful change and continuous improvement 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.