The templates
Start, Stop, Continue
Three action-oriented columns. The most direct route from feedback to changed behaviour. Best default for a team that wants decisions, not discussion.
4Ls: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For
Separates what happened from what the team learned and what it wishes it had. Good after a big delivery, a migration or an incident, when there is a lot to digest.
Mad, Sad, Glad
Sorts feedback by how it felt. Surfaces friction and morale problems a task-focused format hides. Use when the sprint was rough or the team seems flat.
Sailboat
Wind, anchors, rocks and the island: what pushes you forward, what drags, what could sink you, and the goal. Best for looking ahead at risks rather than back at the sprint.
Rose, Bud, Thorn
What worked, what has potential, what hurt. Gentle and quick, so it suits new teams, short sprints and groups that have not done many retros.
How to choose
- You want concrete changes next sprint: Start, Stop, Continue. Every note is already an action.
- Something big just shipped or broke: 4Ls. The "Learned" column captures knowledge before it evaporates.
- The team is frustrated or quiet: Mad, Sad, Glad. Naming feelings first makes the practical conversation easier.
- You are planning, not reviewing: Sailboat. It is the only one of the five that asks about risks that have not happened yet.
- First retro, or a very short one: Rose, Bud, Thorn. Three friendly prompts, ten minutes, no jargon.
Every format works the same way
Whichever columns you choose, the structure that makes a retrospective useful does not change:
- Collect notes silently, and anonymously if you want honest ones.
- Group similar notes so themes stand out.
- Vote to decide what is worth the team's time.
- Discuss the top items and assign action items with owners. A retro without owned actions changes nothing.
After Actions runs those four phases for any column set, with anonymous input, voting, action items and an export at the end. Start, Stop, Continue, 4Ls and Mad, Sad, Glad are built in; for Sailboat or Rose, Bud, Thorn, name your own columns when you create the board.
Run one now
Create a board, pick a template, share the link. No account needed for the team.
Start a retro