Plus Delta retrospective template
Two columns. Fifteen minutes. No excuses for skipping the retro.
Also known as: Plus/Delta, +/Δ, Plus Minus retrospective.
Plus Delta is the shortest useful retrospective there is: what went well, and what to change. It exists to be run when a full session cannot be — after a demo, at the end of a workshop, or on a week where a forty-five minute meeting was never going to happen.
The columns, and what goes in each
- Plus
- What worked and should be repeated?
- Delta
- What would you change next time?
When to use the Plus Delta retrospective
- A fifteen-minute slot at the end of another meeting
- Teams re-establishing the habit after retros lapsed
- Immediately after a release, an incident review, or a workshop, while it is still fresh
How to run a Plus Delta retrospective
- Write silently for three minutes — hard stop.
- Read every card aloud without grouping; at this length, grouping costs more than it saves.
- Pick exactly one delta to act on.
- Name the owner out loud before anyone leaves the call.
Run this retrospective in RetroCanvas
Plus Delta is built in — pick it when you create a board, or set it to recur automatically every sprint. Free, with no credit card required.