6 retrospective formats, and when to pick each one
Classic, Start / Stop / Continue, Mad / Sad / Glad, 4Ls, Speedboat, Kudos & Kaizen: what each format brings out, and when it works best.
Blog4 min read
A retrospective’s format is its columns: the questions the team answers by writing its cards. They look like a detail, yet they decide what will come out of the session. “What got stuck” brings up problems; “What slows us down” brings up causes; “What frustrated us” brings up emotions. Changing the format means changing the angle.
Here are six proven formats, what each one brings out, and the situation where it works best.
1. The classic format
The simplest, and that is its strength: nobody needs an explanation. It suits a first retro, a team that is forming, or a sprint with no notable event. The third column matters more than it seems: it forces people to propose, not just to observe.
Watch out: used too often, it produces generic cards (“good atmosphere”, “too many meetings”). When the same ones come back three times, change format.
2. Start / Stop / Continue
The most action-oriented format: each card is almost a decision already. It is ideal after a reorganization, the arrival of a new tool or a sprint that went badly, when the team needs to set off again with concrete behaviors.
Watch out: the “Stop” column can target people rather than practices. Rephrase in terms of habits (“stop approving at the end of the sprint” rather than the name of whoever does it).
3. Mad / Sad / Glad
Centered on feelings rather than facts. This is the format to bring out when the atmosphere has grown tense, after a difficult release or a period of heavy workload: it gives a legitimate place to what would otherwise be said in the corridor. It also surfaces what is going well that nobody talks about.
Watch out: it requires trust. If trust is lacking, run the session anonymously, and plan time to turn emotions into concrete topics before voting.
4. The 4Ls
Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for: the format for lessons learned. It works well at the end of a project, a quarter or a first release, when you want to draw lessons rather than tune the next sprint. The “Learned” column is often the richest, and the one most rarely asked anywhere else.
Watch out: four columns produce more cards. Plan a real grouping step before the vote.
5. Speedboat
A metaphor: the team is a boat heading for an island. The wind pushes it, the anchors hold it back, the rocks are the risks ahead. It is the only one of the six formats that looks forward: it is valuable at the start of a project, before an important deadline, or when the team has lost sight of its goal.
Watch out: start by writing the island together. Without a shared destination, the rest of the board means nothing.
6. Kudos & Kaizen
Celebrate, then improve. Only two columns, which makes it the quickest format. Kudos give a moment to recognition between colleagues, which other formats often drown under problems; kaizen (continuous improvement, in Japanese) keeps the session focused on concrete progress. Ideal after a success, or for a team tired of retros that only talk about what is going wrong.
How to choose?
- First retro, or nothing in particular: the classic.
- Need to change habits: Start / Stop / Continue.
- Tense atmosphere, grueling sprint: Mad / Sad / Glad.
- End of a project or quarter: the 4Ls.
- Ahead of a deadline, fuzzy goal: Speedboat.
- After a success, tired team: Kudos & Kaizen.
The format matters less than what follows the writing of the cards: grouping, voting, discussing the chosen topics and turning them into action items. The full flow is in the guide to running an agile retrospective.
These formats in SquadRetro
The six formats in this article are the ones SquadRetro offers, with their columns, colors and icons already in place: the format is chosen when creating the retro, and nothing needs preparing the day before. And if none fits, a facilitator can build their squad’s own format from the Pro plan up.