What is a sprint retrospective?

A sprint retrospective is a Scrum ceremony held at the end of every sprint where the team reflects on how they worked together — not what they built (that's the sprint review). The goal is to identify what went well, what didn't, and commit to at least one concrete improvement for the next sprint.

How long should a sprint retrospective be?

For a two-week sprint, a retrospective should be 60–90 minutes. For one-week sprints, 45–60 minutes is usually sufficient. Longer retros don't necessarily produce better outcomes — a focused 60-minute session with clear structure is more effective than an open-ended 2-hour discussion.

What is the Start Stop Continue retrospective template?

Start/Stop/Continue is the most widely used retro format. Team members write sticky notes in three columns: Start (things we should begin doing), Stop (things we should stop doing), and Continue (things that are working and we should keep doing). It's simple, fast, and works for teams of any size.

How do you make retrospectives more engaging?

Rotate the format every sprint so retros don't feel repetitive. Use anonymous input collection (digital or sticky notes) so quieter team members share honestly. Set a timer for each phase to prevent domination by one voice. Most importantly, always end with a specific, assigned action item — not a vague commitment.

What should you do with retrospective action items?

Retrospective action items should be added to the next sprint backlog as real tasks with an owner and a due date. Review them at the start of the next retro to close the loop. If action items consistently go unaddressed, that itself is a retro topic — something is blocking follow-through.

7 Sprint Retrospective Templates Your Team Will Actually Use (2026)

The sprint retrospective is the most powerful ceremony in Scrum — and the most commonly wasted. Most teams run the same format every sprint, generate a wall of sticky notes, leave with vague commitments, and repeat the same problems two weeks later.

The format you use matters. Different templates surface different kinds of insights. Here are seven that actually work — with example questions, ideal team size, and when to reach for each one.

Why Most Retros Fail

Before the templates, the root causes of ineffective retrospectives are worth naming:

Same format every sprint. Teams stop engaging when retros feel repetitive.
No psychological safety. People share what's safe, not what's true.
No real action items. "We'll communicate better" is not an action item.
Previous actions never reviewed. If nothing changed last time, why would this time?
Facilitator dominates. One voice fills the room; everyone else is a passenger.

Before every retro Spend the first 5 minutes reviewing the action items from the previous sprint. Were they completed? If not, why? Skipping this step is the single biggest reason retros stop driving improvement.

Template 1: Start / Stop / Continue

Template 01

Start / Stop / Continue

⏱ 45–60 min 👥 Any team size 🎯 Best for: new teams, any sprint

The most widely used retro format. Three columns prompt the team to think across all dimensions of how they worked — what to begin, what to eliminate, and what to preserve.

Example questions to prompt input:

"What practice would make us faster if we started it today?"
"What meeting, process, or habit is costing us more than it gives?"
"What did we do this sprint that we should protect and never stop?"
"What one change would have the biggest impact on next sprint?"

✓ Great default — use when you have no specific agenda

Template 2: 4Ls — Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For

Template 02

4Ls: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For

⏱ 60–75 min 👥 5–12 people 🎯 Best for: teams focused on growth

The 4Ls go deeper than Start/Stop/Continue by adding a learning dimension. "Longed For" specifically draws out aspirational improvements — not just problems, but the future the team wants to build toward.

"What part of this sprint made you feel proud or energized?"
"What did you personally learn — about the code, the product, or the team?"
"What slowed you down or was missing this sprint?"
"What would your ideal version of this team look like in 3 months?"

✓ Use after a tough sprint to reframe around growth

Template 3: Mad / Sad / Glad

Template 03

Mad / Sad / Glad

⏱ 45–60 min 👥 Any team size 🎯 Best for: emotional debriefs, high-pressure sprints

This format uses emotion as the lens, which lowers the barrier for quieter team members to share honestly. It's especially useful after a sprint that involved conflict, a missed deadline, or a difficult launch.

"What happened this sprint that frustrated you — even a little?"
"What didn't go as planned and left you feeling deflated?"
"What moment made you glad to be on this team?"
"What are you most proud of from the past two weeks?"

✓ Use after incidents, crunches, or conflict

Template 4: Sailboat

Template 04

Sailboat (Anchors & Winds)

⏱ 60–90 min 👥 6–15 people 🎯 Best for: strategic, goal-oriented retros

Teams visualise themselves on a sailboat heading toward a destination (the goal). Winds are forces helping them move forward; anchors are things slowing or dragging them back. Rocks below the waterline are risks ahead. This format naturally connects the sprint to larger goals.

"What's our destination — what are we trying to achieve this quarter?"
"What accelerated us toward that goal this sprint?"
"What slowed us down or pulled us backward?"
"What risks or obstacles do we see ahead that we haven't addressed?"

✓ Use for quarterly kickoffs or goal-setting sprints

Template 5: DAKI — Drop, Add, Keep, Improve

Template 05

DAKI: Drop, Add, Keep, Improve

⏱ 60–75 min 👥 Any team size 🎯 Best for: process-focused teams, mature Scrum teams

DAKI is more action-oriented than Start/Stop/Continue. The "Improve" column is the key differentiator — it acknowledges that some practices are worth keeping but need refinement, not elimination. This produces more nuanced, realistic action items.

"What practice or habit should we completely stop — it's not adding value?"
"What new process, tool, or habit should we introduce next sprint?"
"What is working well and should be protected exactly as is?"
"What has potential but needs to change before it really helps us?"

✓ Use when your team has matured past basic retros

Template 6: Timeline Retrospective

Template 06

Timeline Retrospective

⏱ 75–90 min 👥 5–10 people 🎯 Best for: complex sprints, post-incidents

The team reconstructs the sprint chronologically, placing events on a timeline. This makes it easy to see cause-and-effect relationships — the decision made on day 3 that caused the incident on day 9, or the collaboration win that unblocked three people at once.

"Walk me through the sprint day by day — what happened, in order?"
"When did energy or momentum shift — up or down — and why?"
"What decision turned out to matter more than we thought at the time?"
"If we could go back to one moment and change a decision, which would it be?"

✓ Use after complex sprints or production incidents

Template 7: Lean Coffee

Template 07

Lean Coffee

⏱ 45–60 min 👥 4–10 people 🎯 Best for: teams that avoid hard topics

Lean Coffee is democratic and agenda-free. Team members each write topics they want to discuss. Everyone votes on the topics, then discussions proceed in priority order with a strict time limit per topic (usually 5–8 minutes), with the group voting to continue or move on. This prevents a single voice from dominating.

"What topic related to how we work have you been wanting to raise?"
"Which of these topics would improve our next sprint the most if resolved?"
"What's the most important thing to decide or commit to before we leave?"

✓ Use when there are unspoken tensions or suppressed topics

Turning Retro Output into Real Action

The templates are useless if the output disappears. Here's a simple process to make retro action items stick:

One action item per retro. More than one and accountability dissolves. Choose the highest-impact item.
Assign an owner. "The team will do X" means no one will do X. Name one person responsible.
Add it to the sprint backlog. A retro action item is a real task. It needs a ticket, an owner, and a due date — just like user stories.
Review it at the top of the next retro. "Last sprint we committed to X. Did it happen? What changed?"
Celebrate the win if it worked. Teams that see their retro items actually improve things become more engaged in future retros.

Tool tip Projiq lets you convert retrospective action items into sprint tasks directly from the board view — so your retro outputs become trackable work items with a single click, not lost sticky notes.

For teams just starting with Agile, also read our guide on Agile vs Scrum — the complete guide for engineering teams, which covers retrospectives in the context of the full Scrum framework.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best sprint retrospective format for new teams?

Start/Stop/Continue is the best starting point for new teams. It's easy to explain in under two minutes, works for any team size, and produces concrete, actionable output. Once a team has run 4–6 retros, introduce variety by rotating to 4Ls or Mad/Sad/Glad.

How do you run a retrospective for remote teams?

Use a digital collaboration tool where all team members can add anonymous sticky notes simultaneously (Miro, FigJam, or a retro-specific tool). Start with silent individual thinking time (5 minutes) before discussion — this prevents groupthink and gives quieter members time to contribute. Use video with cameras on, and time-box discussions strictly to maintain energy.

How many action items should come out of a retrospective?

One to three, maximum. Most teams identify 10–15 potential improvements in a retro but should commit to only one or two. More action items means none get done. Prioritise ruthlessly: what single change would most improve the next sprint? Commit to that, assign an owner, and move on.

Should retrospective action items go into the sprint backlog?

Yes, always. A retro action item that isn't in the backlog doesn't exist as real work. Create a ticket for it, assign an owner, and treat it like any other sprint commitment. If it doesn't fit in the current sprint, add it to the next one — but make sure it gets tracked somewhere visible.

Can you run a retrospective without a Scrum Master?

Yes. Retrospectives need a facilitator, not necessarily a Scrum Master. Rotate the facilitation role across team members — this builds facilitation skills across the team and prevents the Scrum Master from becoming a bottleneck. The facilitator's job is to keep the conversation moving, ensure everyone is heard, and drive the group to a clear action item by the end.