Beyond “what went well”: choosing the right retro format

If every retro uses the same three columns, answers start repeating themselves within a month. Formats are lenses: change the lens and the team notices different things.

When energy is low: Mad, Sad, Glad

Emotion-first formats give people permission to say how the sprint actually felt. Use it after a rough release or a stressful period.

When you’re drowning in process: Start, Stop, Continue

The “Stop” column is the star. Teams accumulate process like ships accumulate barnacles — this format is explicitly designed to scrape some off.

When planning something new: Pre-mortem

Imagine the project already failed, then write down why. It’s remarkable how much risk a team can see when you remove the optimism requirement.

When things feel stale: Sailboat or Hot Air Balloon

Metaphor formats sound silly and work anyway. Anchors, winds and rocks reframe familiar complaints and reliably surface longer-term concerns that weekly formats miss.

Rotate formats every few retros. In Retroboard, every one of these is a one-click template — and you can customize the columns after.