How to Migrate from Google Jamboard to RetroFlow (5-Minute Guide)

Your team used Jamboard for retrospectives. Jamboard is gone. Now what?

The good news: switching to RetroFlow takes about five minutes. There’s no data migration, no account provisioning, no vendor approval process. You can literally have your next retro set up before you finish reading this article.

Here’s exactly how to do it.

Before You Switch: Saving Your Jamboard History

First, let’s deal with your existing Jamboard content. If you haven’t already, save anything important before it’s gone for good.

What to save:

Screenshots of boards that captured important decisions
Action items that were documented on Jams
Any recurring templates you manually created

How to save it:

Google Takeout — Check if Jamboard data is still available in your Google Takeout export (Workspace admins may have extended retention)
Screenshots — If you can still access cached views, screenshot them
Don’t stress too much — Most retro boards are ephemeral. The value was in the conversation, not the sticky notes

If your Jams are already inaccessible, that’s okay. You’re not migrating data — you’re upgrading your process. For a deeper look at the Jamboard shutdown timeline, see our full breakdown of what happened.

Step 1: Create Your First RetroFlow Retrospective

Go to RetroFlow and create a new retrospective. That’s one click.

No signup form. No email verification. No “choose your plan” screen. You’ll land directly in the retro creation flow.

What you’ll notice immediately:

There’s no account wall — this is intentional. We believe the fastest path to a good retro shouldn’t involve a registration form.
You’ll get a unique session link that you can share with anyone.

📖 Explore more: best retrospective tools

Step 2: Pick a Retrospective Format

This is where RetroFlow already beats Jamboard. Instead of a blank canvas where you had to manually create columns and labels, you choose from pre-built formats:

Format	Best For	Columns
Start-Stop-Continue	General sprints	Start, Stop, Continue
4Ls	Reflective teams	Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For
Mad-Sad-Glad	Emotional check-ins	Mad, Sad, Glad
What Went Well	Positive-focused retros	Went Well, To Improve, Action Items
DAKI	Action-oriented teams	Drop, Add, Keep, Improve

Not sure which to pick? Start-Stop-Continue is the most popular for a reason — it’s simple and gets results. If you want more options, we’ve got guides for 20+ retrospective formats.

On Jamboard, setting up a Start-Stop-Continue retro meant:

Create a new Jam
Add a text box for “Start”
Add a text box for “Stop”
Add a text box for “Continue”
Arrange them into columns
Explain the format to your team

On RetroFlow, you select “Start-Stop-Continue” from a dropdown. Done.

Copy the session link and drop it in your team’s Slack channel, Teams chat, or calendar invite.

Here’s the critical difference from Jamboard: nobody needs an account. On Jamboard, every participant needed a Google account. That meant:

External contractors couldn’t join easily
People with personal vs. work Google accounts got confused
New team members needed to be onboarded to your Workspace first

With RetroFlow, the link is the access. Click it, you’re in. This matters more than you’d think — especially for teams with external stakeholders or cross-organization participants.

Step 4: Run Your First Retro

With your team joined, here’s what a RetroFlow retro session looks like compared to what you did on Jamboard:

Adding items:

Jamboard: Create sticky notes, type on them, drag them to the right column
RetroFlow: Type in the input field, hit enter. Items appear in the right column automatically.

Voting (the big upgrade):

Jamboard: No voting existed. You either discussed everything or the facilitator picked topics.
RetroFlow: Each participant gets votes. Click to vote on the items that matter most. Results sort automatically so you discuss the highest-priority items first.

If you’ve never run a retro with voting before, it’ll change everything. Suddenly the team — not just the loudest voice — decides what gets discussed. We cover facilitation strategies in depth in our guide to facilitating retrospectives.

Anonymous mode (another upgrade):

Jamboard: Every sticky note showed who created it. No way around it.
RetroFlow: Toggle anonymous mode on, and nobody knows who wrote what. This is huge for building psychological safety.

Timer:

Jamboard: Open a separate browser tab with a timer. Or just wing it.
RetroFlow: Built-in timer. Set it, start it, everyone sees it.

Pair your tool with the right questions. Our retrospective questions guide has 100+ options organized by category.

Step 5: Make RetroFlow Your Team’s Default

After your first session, making the switch permanent is easy:

Bookmark RetroFlow — Or add it to your team’s tool list
Update your sprint ceremony invite — Replace the Jamboard link with RetroFlow
Tell your team — “We’re using RetroFlow for retros now. Same link pattern every sprint. No accounts needed.”
Archive old Jamboard exports — Store any saved screenshots/PDFs in your team’s shared drive for historical reference

That’s it. No migration project. No change management deck. No training sessions.

What You Gain After Migrating

Here’s a quick before-and-after:

Aspect	With Jamboard	With RetroFlow
Setup time per retro	5-10 min (manual layout)	~30 seconds
Voting	None (facilitator picks)	Built-in, anonymous option
Honest feedback	Limited (names visible)	Anonymous mode available
Follow-through	Screenshot → hope for the best	Action items tracked
Team access	Google account required	Link access, no signup
Cost	Free (Workspace required)	Free (nothing required)
Time management	External timer or gut feel	Built-in timer

Tips for a Smooth Transition

Don’t overthink it. The biggest mistake teams make when switching tools is turning it into a big initiative. Don’t schedule a “tool migration meeting.” Just use RetroFlow for your next retro and let the experience speak for itself.

Start with a familiar format. If your team always did a basic three-column retro on Jamboard, pick Start-Stop-Continue on RetroFlow. You can explore fancier formats like Sailboat or Starfish later once everyone’s comfortable.

Use anonymous mode for the first session. People may be more candid when they’re trying a new tool. Anonymous mode removes the “will people judge me for this feedback?” hesitation. It’s a great way to kick off the transition with high-quality input.

Don’t forget action items. This is the feature teams appreciate most after switching from Jamboard. Actually recording and tracking what you decided to change means your retros produce results, not just conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the migration actually take?

Under 5 minutes. There’s no data to transfer, no accounts to create, no configurations to set up. You create a retro, share the link, and you’re running.

Can I import my old Jamboard content into RetroFlow?

There’s no direct import, but there’s also no need. Retrospective boards are session-based — each sprint gets a fresh board. Your old Jams were already done. If you have action items from previous retros, add them to your first RetroFlow session as carryover items.

What if my team doesn’t like RetroFlow?

Since RetroFlow is free and requires no commitment, there’s zero risk. Try it for one sprint. If your team prefers something else, check out our full list of Jamboard alternatives — there are options for every preference and budget.

Does RetroFlow work for large teams?

Yes. RetroFlow handles teams of any size. Anonymous mode and voting actually become more valuable with larger groups, where it’s harder for everyone to have a voice. For tips on large-group facilitation, see our guide on handling dominant voices in retrospectives.

We used Jamboard for more than just retros. What about brainstorming?

RetroFlow is built specifically for retrospectives. For general whiteboarding and brainstorming, consider Miro or FigJam. Many teams use RetroFlow for retros and a general whiteboard tool for everything else — they complement each other well.

Ready to Switch?

Your next retrospective doesn’t have to involve manually drawing columns on a blank canvas. If you’d like to try this format, RetroFlow has built-in templates for every popular retrospective structure — no signup needed.

→ Start your first RetroFlow retrospective