Sprint Retrospective Template
A structured sprint retrospective template with formats for continuous improvement, action items, and team reflection.
Template Type:Process
Sprint Retrospective Template
Sprint retrospectives are where teams learn and improve. This template provides multiple formats for effective retrospectives that lead to real change, not just venting sessions.
Why Run Retrospectives?
Benefits:
- Continuous improvement becomes habit
- Team members feel heard
- Problems get addressed before they fester
- Successes get recognized and repeated
- Team cohesion strengthens
When to use:
- End of every sprint (every 1-2 weeks)
- After major milestones or releases
- When something goes notably well or poorly
- When team dynamics need attention
The Template
Pre-Retrospective Setup
markdown
# Sprint [X] Retrospective
**Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Sprint:** [Sprint Name/Number]
**Facilitator:** [Name]
**Attendees:** [Names]
**Duration:** [45-90 minutes]
---
## Sprint Summary
**Sprint Goal:** [What we set out to accomplish]
**Sprint Outcome:**
- Committed: [X story points / Y items]
- Completed: [X story points / Y items]
- Velocity: [Points completed]
**Notable Events:**
- [Event 1]
- [Event 2]
---
## Pre-Work (Before the Meeting)
Please spend 5-10 minutes before the retro reflecting on:
1. What went well this sprint?
2. What didn't go well?
3. What should we try differently?
4. Shout-outs for teammates?Format 1: Start, Stop, Continue
markdown
## Retrospective: Start, Stop, Continue
### Start (What should we begin doing?)
| Suggestion | Votes | Notes |
|------------|-------|-------|
| [Suggestion 1] | [#] | [Discussion] |
| [Suggestion 2] | [#] | [Discussion] |
| [Suggestion 3] | [#] | [Discussion] |
### Stop (What should we stop doing?)
| Suggestion | Votes | Notes |
|------------|-------|-------|
| [Suggestion 1] | [#] | [Discussion] |
| [Suggestion 2] | [#] | [Discussion] |
| [Suggestion 3] | [#] | [Discussion] |
### Continue (What's working that we should keep?)
| Suggestion | Votes | Notes |
|------------|-------|-------|
| [Suggestion 1] | [#] | [Discussion] |
| [Suggestion 2] | [#] | [Discussion] |
| [Suggestion 3] | [#] | [Discussion] |
---
## Action Items
| Action | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|--------|-------|----------|--------|
| [Action 1] | [Name] | [Date] | [ ] |
| [Action 2] | [Name] | [Date] | [ ] |
| [Action 3] | [Name] | [Date] | [ ] |Format 2: 4Ls (Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For)
markdown
## Retrospective: 4Ls
### Liked (What did you enjoy?)
- [Item 1]
- [Item 2]
- [Item 3]
### Learned (What did you learn?)
- [Item 1]
- [Item 2]
- [Item 3]
### Lacked (What was missing?)
- [Item 1]
- [Item 2]
- [Item 3]
### Longed For (What do you wish you had?)
- [Item 1]
- [Item 2]
- [Item 3]
---
## Themes and Patterns
| Theme | Frequency | Impact |
|-------|-----------|--------|
| [Theme 1] | [How often mentioned] | [High/Med/Low] |
| [Theme 2] | [How often mentioned] | [High/Med/Low] |
---
## Action Items
| Action | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|--------|-------|----------|--------|
| [Action 1] | [Name] | [Date] | [ ] |
| [Action 2] | [Name] | [Date] | [ ] |Format 3: Sailboat
markdown
## Retrospective: Sailboat
*Imagine our team as a sailboat on a journey to our goal.*
### Wind (What propelled us forward?)
🌬️ [Factor 1]
🌬️ [Factor 2]
🌬️ [Factor 3]
### Anchor (What held us back?)
⚓ [Factor 1]
⚓ [Factor 2]
⚓ [Factor 3]
### Rocks (What risks or obstacles do we see ahead?)
🪨 [Risk 1]
🪨 [Risk 2]
🪨 [Risk 3]
### Sun/Island (What's our goal? What are we sailing toward?)
🏝️ [Goal/Vision]
---
## Action Items
| Action | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|--------|-------|----------|--------|
| [Action 1] | [Name] | [Date] | [ ] |
| [Action 2] | [Name] | [Date] | [ ] |Format 4: Mad, Sad, Glad
markdown
## Retrospective: Mad, Sad, Glad
### Mad (What frustrated you?)
😠 [Item 1]
😠 [Item 2]
😠 [Item 3]
### Sad (What disappointed you?)
😢 [Item 1]
😢 [Item 2]
😢 [Item 3]
### Glad (What made you happy?)
😊 [Item 1]
😊 [Item 2]
😊 [Item 3]
---
## Discussion
**Common themes:**
- [Theme 1]
- [Theme 2]
**Root causes identified:**
- [Cause 1]
- [Cause 2]
---
## Action Items
| Action | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|--------|-------|----------|--------|
| [Action 1] | [Name] | [Date] | [ ] |Format 5: What? So What? Now What?
markdown
## Retrospective: What? So What? Now What?
### What? (What happened this sprint?)
*Facts only, no interpretation*
- [Observation 1]
- [Observation 2]
- [Observation 3]
- [Observation 4]
### So What? (Why does it matter?)
*Interpret the meaning and impact*
| Observation | Impact | Significance |
|-------------|--------|--------------|
| [Obs 1] | [Impact] | [Why it matters] |
| [Obs 2] | [Impact] | [Why it matters] |
### Now What? (What will we do about it?)
*Decide on concrete actions*
| Action | Owner | Due Date | Expected Outcome |
|--------|-------|----------|------------------|
| [Action 1] | [Name] | [Date] | [Outcome] |
| [Action 2] | [Name] | [Date] | [Outcome] |Post-Retrospective Follow-Up
markdown
## Previous Action Items Review
*From last retrospective:*
| Action | Owner | Status | Outcome |
|--------|-------|--------|---------|
| [Action 1] | [Name] | ✅ Complete | [What happened] |
| [Action 2] | [Name] | 🔄 In Progress | [Update] |
| [Action 3] | [Name] | ❌ Not Started | [Why / Carry forward?] |
---
## Retrospective Health Check
**Participation:** [1-5] ⭐
**Quality of discussion:** [1-5] ⭐
**Actionability of items:** [1-5] ⭐
**Feedback on the retro itself:**
- [Feedback 1]
- [Feedback 2]
---
## Next Retrospective
**Date:** [Date]
**Facilitator:** [Name - rotate!]
**Format:** [Format to try]Complete Example
markdown
# Sprint 14 Retrospective
**Date:** 2025-10-15
**Sprint:** Sprint 14 - "Autumn Launch"
**Facilitator:** Jamie Park
**Attendees:** Sarah, Alex, Mike, Lisa, Emma, David
**Duration:** 60 minutes
---
## Sprint Summary
**Sprint Goal:** Complete checkout flow redesign and deploy to 25% of users
**Sprint Outcome:**
- Committed: 34 story points / 12 items
- Completed: 31 story points / 10 items
- Velocity: 31 (average: 28)
**Notable Events:**
- Successfully launched checkout to 25% (goal achieved!)
- Production incident on Wednesday (payment gateway)
- Emma's first sprint on the team
- David out sick Thursday/Friday
---
## Previous Action Items Review
| Action | Owner | Status | Outcome |
|--------|-------|--------|---------|
| Set up automated deploy notifications | Mike | ✅ Complete | Slack channel now gets deploy alerts |
| Create runbook for payment issues | Alex | ✅ Complete | Used it during Wednesday's incident! |
| Pair programming for complex PRs | Team | 🔄 In Progress | Did it twice, felt useful |
| Improve story estimation | Sarah | ❌ Not Started | Deprioritized, carry forward |
---
## Retrospective: Start, Stop, Continue
### Start (What should we begin doing?)
| Suggestion | Votes | Notes |
|------------|-------|-------|
| Daily standup parking lot for longer discussions | 4 | Standups running long, need separate time |
| Post-incident reviews for all P1/P2s | 3 | Wednesday's incident taught us a lot |
| Code review checklist | 3 | Catching same issues repeatedly |
| Mob programming for gnarly bugs | 2 | Worked great for payment issue |
### Stop (What should we stop doing?)
| Suggestion | Votes | Notes |
|------------|-------|-------|
| Committing directly to main | 5 | Caused confusion twice this sprint |
| Skipping unit tests "just this once" | 4 | Payment bug would've been caught |
| Over-engineering solutions | 2 | Checkout v1 was simpler than needed |
| Late story additions mid-sprint | 2 | Disrupted focus |
### Continue (What's working that we should keep?)
| Suggestion | Votes | Notes |
|------------|-------|-------|
| Feature flags for gradual rollout | 5 | Saved us during incident |
| Pair programming for complex work | 4 | Emma ramped up faster |
| Daily deploys | 3 | Keeps risk small |
| Team lunch Fridays | 3 | Good for morale |
| Celebrating small wins in Slack | 2 | Feels good to recognize each other |
---
## Discussion Highlights
**Why are standups running long?**
- Too much detail on work items
- Side conversations about blockers
- Solution: 15-min standup + optional 15-min "parking lot"
**What made the incident response work well?**
- Runbook was ready (thank you Alex!)
- Clear ownership (Mike led)
- Feature flag let us disable quickly
- Good communication in Slack
**How's Emma's onboarding going?**
- Pair programming helped tremendously
- Documentation could be better
- Need buddy system formalized
---
## Shout-Outs
🌟 **Alex** - For having the runbook ready. It made Wednesday so much smoother.
🌟 **Mike** - Calm and clear during the incident. Great leadership.
🌟 **Lisa** - Staying late to help Emma debug. True team player.
🌟 **Emma** - Jumping in and contributing on day 3. Impressive!
---
## Action Items
| Action | Owner | Due Date | Status |
|--------|-------|----------|--------|
| Implement standup parking lot format | Jamie | Oct 18 | [ ] |
| Create branch protection rules for main | Mike | Oct 17 | [ ] |
| Draft code review checklist | Alex | Oct 22 | [ ] |
| Schedule post-incident review for payment issue | Sarah | Oct 16 | [ ] |
| Write onboarding buddy system doc | Lisa | Oct 25 | [ ] |
---
## Carry Forward
From previous retros still in progress:
- Pair programming for complex PRs (continue experimenting)
- Improve story estimation (Sarah to propose approach)
---
## Retrospective Health Check
**Participation:** ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Everyone contributed)
**Quality of discussion:** ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Good depth, stayed on topic)
**Actionability of items:** ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Specific, owned, achievable)
**Feedback on the retro:**
- "Liked the voting, kept us focused on high-impact items"
- "Could use more time for discussion on 'Stop' items"
- "Good energy today"
---
## Next Retrospective
**Date:** October 29, 2025
**Facilitator:** Alex (rotating)
**Format:** Try Sailboat (team hasn't used it before)Facilitation Tips
Before the Retro
- Review previous action items - Don't let them die
- Prepare the space - Virtual whiteboard or physical supplies
- Set the stage - Send pre-work questions 24 hours ahead
- Time-box - Allocate time to each section
During the Retro
- Prime the pump - Start with wins to set positive tone
- Silent brainstorming first - Everyone writes before discussing (prevents groupthink)
- Dot voting - Limit votes (3-5 per person) to find priorities
- Focus on systemic issues - "Why did this happen?" not "Who did this?"
- Limit action items - 2-4 max. More won't get done.
After the Retro
- Document immediately - Memory fades fast
- Share notes - Transparency builds trust
- Track action items - Review at next retro
- Rotate facilitators - Shares load, brings fresh perspective
Common Anti-Patterns
The Blame Game
Symptom: Finger-pointing, defensive responses Fix: Use "we" language. Focus on systems, not individuals.
Action Item Graveyard
Symptom: Same items appear retro after retro Fix: Fewer items, clearer owners, explicit follow-up.
Positivity Theater
Symptom: Only positive feedback, real issues unaddressed Fix: Create psychological safety. Lead by sharing your own concerns first.
Groundhog Day
Symptom: Same discussions every sprint Fix: Root cause analysis. Address underlying issues, not symptoms.
The Monologue
Symptom: One person dominates discussion Fix: Silent writing first, round-robin sharing, facilitate actively.
Retrospectives are only as valuable as the changes they produce. A great retro isn't the one with the best discussion—it's the one where the team actually improves.