Sprint retro
A look back at the last sprint that ends in two or three changes someone owns. The team writes in silence first, so the retro is about the sprint rather than the most confident voice in it.
90 minutes, remote. Serves 8 to 12.
How to run it
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Check-in
10 minSay what the room will leave with and show the three steps on the board. Then ask: "In one sentence: what do you need from the next ninety minutes? Type it in the chat, but don't press Enter until I say go." Say "Go" and read the chat out loud in one pass. It's faster than a round, and nobody answers in the shadow of the person before them.
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4L's
25 minNotes per quadrant: up to two
Put four quadrant frames on the board: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for. "Let's look back at the sprint from four angles. Nothing here is about one person." People mix up two of them, so say it before the writing starts: Lacked is what was missing this sprint, and Longed for is what you want next time. Give two minutes of silent thinking before anyone types. Then everyone adds up to two per quadrant, one thought per sticky, posting as they go rather than all at the end, so the board fills while others are still writing. Finish with everyone reading the board in silence. Nobody reads their notes aloud.
Board: Frame 1, "4L's": four quadrants labelled Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for.
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Affinity Diagramming
20 minQuadrants clustered: all four
Split the room into one group per quadrant you're clustering (all four) and assign each group its quadrant frame by name in the chat. No breakouts are needed: each group works in its own frame. Each group sorts its quadrant in silence, putting notes that say the same thing together, then names each cluster with a sticky in a second colour: "Reviews came too late", not "Process".
In the 90 also: One volunteer from each group gives the room a 30-second tour of its quadrant. That's four voices, not twelve.
Board: Uses the 4L's frame. Have a second sticky colour ready for cluster names.
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Dot Voting
20 minChanges kept: three
Votes go on the Lacked and Longed for clusters only, because that's where next sprint's changes are; Liked and Learned are what to keep. Use the board's voting tool with three votes each and results hidden until everyone has voted, or give everyone three dot stickers. "Vote for what would make the biggest difference next sprint." Count, then take the top three. Rewrite each one together as a change you could check in two weeks, typing it into the "Next sprint" frame as you agree it: "Next sprint we will…" If a change can't be checked, it isn't finished.
Board: Frame 2, "Next sprint": the changes, one per sticky, each with space for its owner.
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Commit: who does what by when
15 minEach result the room produced needs an owner. Owners type "I will [what] by [when]" into the Commitments frame, under the result they own. Read every commitment back out loud. If a result has no owner, say so: "Nobody owns this yet." Type that into the frame too, so it leaves the room as an open item rather than a quiet gap.
In the 90 also: Ask each owner one question: "What could stop this?" One sentence back. If the answer is another person, that person is in the commitment too.
Board: Frame "Commitments": one column per result, with space for "I will [what] by [when]".
4L's is by Mary Gorman and Ellen Gottesdiener.
90 minutes, in person. Serves 8 to 12.
-
Check-in
10 minSay what the room will leave with and point to the three steps on the wall. Then ask: "In one sentence: what do you need from the next ninety minutes?" Take answers in any order, not round the circle. If someone passes, move on.
-
4L's
25 minNotes per quadrant: up to two
Put four quadrants on the wall: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for. "Let's look back at the sprint from four angles. Nothing here is about one person." People mix up two of them, so say it before the writing starts: Lacked is what was missing this sprint, and Longed for is what you want next time. Give two minutes of silent thinking before anyone writes. Then everyone writes up to two per quadrant, one thought per note, and posts each in its quadrant. Finish with everyone reading the wall in silence. Nobody reads their notes aloud.
-
Affinity Diagramming
20 minQuadrants clustered: all four
Split the room into one group per quadrant you're clustering (all four). Each group sorts its quadrant in silence, putting notes that say the same thing together. Then it names each cluster on a different-coloured note: "Reviews came too late", not "Process".
In the 90 also: One volunteer from each group gives the room a 30-second tour of its quadrant. That's four voices, not twelve.
-
Dot Voting
20 minChanges kept: three
Votes go on Lacked and Longed for only, because that's where next sprint's changes are; Liked and Learned are what to keep. Give everyone three dots. "Vote for what would make the biggest difference next sprint." Count, then take the top three. Rewrite each one together as a change you could check in two weeks: "Next sprint we will…" If a change can't be checked, it isn't finished.
-
Commit: who does what by when
15 minEach result the room produced needs an owner. The owner writes "I will [what] by [when]" on a card, reads it out and sticks it under the result. Only owners speak. If a result has no owner, say so: "Nobody owns this yet." Write that on the wall too, so it leaves the room as an open item rather than a quiet gap.
In the 90 also: Ask each owner one question: "What could stop this?" One sentence back. If the answer is another person, that person is in the commitment too.
90 minutes, remote. Serves 8 to 12.
-
Check-in
10 minSay what the room will leave with and show the three steps on the board. Then ask: "In one sentence: what do you need from the next ninety minutes? Type it in the chat, but don't press Enter until I say go." Say "Go" and read the chat out loud in one pass. It's faster than a round, and nobody answers in the shadow of the person before them.
-
4L's
25 minNotes per quadrant: up to two
Put four quadrant frames on the board: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for. "Let's look back at the sprint from four angles. Nothing here is about one person." People mix up two of them, so say it before the writing starts: Lacked is what was missing this sprint, and Longed for is what you want next time. Give two minutes of silent thinking before anyone types. Then everyone adds up to two per quadrant, one thought per sticky, posting as they go rather than all at the end, so the board fills while others are still writing. Finish with everyone reading the board in silence. Nobody reads their notes aloud.
Board: Frame 1, "4L's": four quadrants labelled Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for.
-
Affinity Diagramming
20 minQuadrants clustered: all four
Split the room into one group per quadrant you're clustering (all four) and assign each group its quadrant frame by name in the chat. No breakouts are needed: each group works in its own frame. Each group sorts its quadrant in silence, putting notes that say the same thing together, then names each cluster with a sticky in a second colour: "Reviews came too late", not "Process".
In the 90 also: One volunteer from each group gives the room a 30-second tour of its quadrant. That's four voices, not twelve.
Board: Uses the 4L's frame. Have a second sticky colour ready for cluster names.
-
Dot Voting
20 minChanges kept: three
Votes go on the Lacked and Longed for clusters only, because that's where next sprint's changes are; Liked and Learned are what to keep. Use the board's voting tool with three votes each and results hidden until everyone has voted, or give everyone three dot stickers. "Vote for what would make the biggest difference next sprint." Count, then take the top three. Rewrite each one together as a change you could check in two weeks, typing it into the "Next sprint" frame as you agree it: "Next sprint we will…" If a change can't be checked, it isn't finished.
Board: Frame 2, "Next sprint": the changes, one per sticky, each with space for its owner.
-
Commit: who does what by when
15 minEach result the room produced needs an owner. Owners type "I will [what] by [when]" into the Commitments frame, under the result they own. Read every commitment back out loud. If a result has no owner, say so: "Nobody owns this yet." Type that into the frame too, so it leaves the room as an open item rather than a quiet gap.
In the 90 also: Ask each owner one question: "What could stop this?" One sentence back. If the answer is another person, that person is in the commitment too.
Board: Frame "Commitments": one column per result, with space for "I will [what] by [when]".
60 minutes, in person. Serves 8 to 12.
-
Check-in
5 minSay what the room will leave with. Then ask: "One word for how you're arriving." Take the words in any order, not round the circle.
-
4L's
20 minNotes per quadrant: one
Put four quadrants on the wall: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for. "Let's look back at the sprint from four angles. Nothing here is about one person." People mix up two of them, so say it before the writing starts: Lacked is what was missing this sprint, and Longed for is what you want next time. Give two minutes of silent thinking before anyone writes. Then everyone writes one per quadrant, one thought per note, and posts each in its quadrant. Finish with everyone reading the wall in silence. Nobody reads their notes aloud.
-
Affinity Diagramming
10 minQuadrants clustered: Lacked and Longed for
Split the room into one group per quadrant you're clustering (Lacked and Longed for). Each group sorts its quadrant in silence, putting notes that say the same thing together. Then it names each cluster on a different-coloured note: "Reviews came too late", not "Process".
-
Dot Voting
15 minChanges kept: two
Votes go on Lacked and Longed for only, because that's where next sprint's changes are; Liked and Learned are what to keep. Give everyone three dots. "Vote for what would make the biggest difference next sprint." Count, then take the top two. Rewrite each one together as a change you could check in two weeks: "Next sprint we will…" If a change can't be checked, it isn't finished.
-
Commit: who does what by when
10 minEach result the room produced needs an owner. The owner writes "I will [what] by [when]" on a card, reads it out and sticks it under the result. Only owners speak. If a result has no owner, say so: "Nobody owns this yet." Write that on the wall too, so it leaves the room as an open item rather than a quiet gap.
60 minutes, remote. Serves 8 to 12.
-
Check-in
5 minSay what the room will leave with. Then ask: "One word for how you're arriving. Type it in the chat, but don't press Enter until I say go." Say "Go" and read the chat out loud in one pass. It's faster than a round, and nobody answers in the shadow of the person before them.
-
4L's
20 minNotes per quadrant: one
Put four quadrant frames on the board: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for. "Let's look back at the sprint from four angles. Nothing here is about one person." People mix up two of them, so say it before the writing starts: Lacked is what was missing this sprint, and Longed for is what you want next time. Give two minutes of silent thinking before anyone types. Then everyone adds one per quadrant, one thought per sticky, posting as they go rather than all at the end, so the board fills while others are still writing. Finish with everyone reading the board in silence. Nobody reads their notes aloud.
Board: Frame 1, "4L's": four quadrants labelled Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for.
-
Affinity Diagramming
10 minQuadrants clustered: Lacked and Longed for
Split the room into one group per quadrant you're clustering (Lacked and Longed for) and assign each group its quadrant frame by name in the chat. No breakouts are needed: each group works in its own frame. Each group sorts its quadrant in silence, putting notes that say the same thing together, then names each cluster with a sticky in a second colour: "Reviews came too late", not "Process".
Board: Uses the 4L's frame. Have a second sticky colour ready for cluster names.
-
Dot Voting
15 minChanges kept: two
Votes go on the Lacked and Longed for clusters only, because that's where next sprint's changes are; Liked and Learned are what to keep. Use the board's voting tool with three votes each and results hidden until everyone has voted, or give everyone three dot stickers. "Vote for what would make the biggest difference next sprint." Count, then take the top two. Rewrite each one together as a change you could check in two weeks, typing it into the "Next sprint" frame as you agree it: "Next sprint we will…" If a change can't be checked, it isn't finished.
Board: Frame 2, "Next sprint": the changes, one per sticky, each with space for its owner.
-
Commit: who does what by when
10 minEach result the room produced needs an owner. Owners type "I will [what] by [when]" into the Commitments frame, under the result they own. Read every commitment back out loud. If a result has no owner, say so: "Nobody owns this yet." Type that into the frame too, so it leaves the room as an open item rather than a quiet gap.
Board: Frame "Commitments": one column per result, with space for "I will [what] by [when]".
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Recent Comments (3)
This workshop was incredibly effective for our remote team! We adapted it slightly for a virtual setting and it worked wonderfully. The key was breaking into smaller breakout rooms.
Great resource! One tip: prepare all materials the day before to avoid any last-minute rushes.
Used this for our quarterly planning session. The structured approach really helped us stay on track!