Templates
Retrospective templates
19 retrospective formats, all built into RetroCanvas and free to use. Each guide covers what the format is for, when it is the right choice, what belongs in every column, and how to facilitate a session — so you can pick one deliberately instead of defaulting to three columns out of habit.
Standard
The three-column retrospective almost every team starts with.
- Went Well
- To Improve
- Action Items
Standard + Shoutouts
The classic three columns plus a place to thank people by name.
- Went Well
- To Improve
- Action Items
- Shoutouts
Start Stop Continue
Three columns that force every observation into a decision.
- Start
- Stop
- Continue
4 Ls
Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For — feelings, facts, and gaps in one pass.
- Liked
- Learned
- Lacked
- Longed For
Sailboat
A boat, its wind, its anchors, and the rocks ahead.
- Wind
- Anchor
- Rocks
- Island
Mad Sad Glad
Sort the sprint by how it felt, not by how it went.
- Mad
- Sad
- Glad
Rose Bud Thorn
Wins, early-stage potential, and the things that hurt.
- Rose
- Bud
- Thorn
Starfish
Five columns that let a team tune a practice instead of scrapping it.
- Keep Doing
- More Of
- Less Of
- Start Doing
- Stop Doing
KALM
Keep, Add, Less, More — the Starfish without the scrap column.
- Keep
- Add
- Less
- More
DAKI
Drop, Add, Keep, Improve — decisive, and short.
- Drop
- Add
- Keep
- Improve
Plus Delta
Two columns. Fifteen minutes. No excuses for skipping the retro.
- Plus
- Delta
Three Little Pigs
Straw, sticks, and bricks — sort the work by how well it will hold.
- House of Straw
- House of Sticks
- House of Bricks
Lean Coffee
An agenda-less retro where the team votes on what to discuss, live.
- To Discuss
- Discussing
- Discussed
Hopes and Fears
A forward-looking retro for the start of something, not the end.
- Hopes
- Fears
- Actions
Highlights and Lowlights
A narrative retro for a long stretch of work.
- Highlights
- Lowlights
- Lessons
Wishing Well
Start from what the team wishes were true, then find the first step.
- Wishes
- Blockers
- First Step
Four Ws
A learning-focused retro with room for open questions.
- What went well
- What didn't
- What I learned
- What still puzzles me
Energy Check
A retro about sustainable pace, aimed squarely at burnout risk.
- Energising
- Draining
- Rebalance
Start Stop Continue More Less
Start Stop Continue with the two dials the original is missing.
- Start
- Stop
- Continue
- More
- Less
Run any of these in RetroCanvas
Every template here is one click away when you create a board — and any of them can be set to recur automatically each sprint.