30+ Sprint Retrospective Formats: The Complete Guide for 2026

Running the same retrospective format every sprint? Your team might be losing engagement—and missing valuable insights. The best Scrum Masters and agile coaches know that varying your retrospective format keeps discussions fresh and surfaces different perspectives.

This comprehensive guide covers 30+ proven retrospective formats, organized by category, with guidance on when to use each one. Whether you’re facilitating your first retro or your hundredth, you’ll find formats that work for your team.

Why Retrospective Formats Matter

A retrospective format provides structure for your team’s reflection. The right format can:

Surface insights that wouldn’t emerge from open discussion
Engage quieter team members with clear prompts
Keep experienced teams interested with fresh approaches
Match your team’s current needs (celebration, problem-solving, planning)

💡 Pro tip: RetroFlow includes 20+ built-in formats—completely free, no signup required.

Quick Reference: All Formats at a Glance

Format	Best For	Difficulty	Time
Start Stop Continue	Beginners, any team	Easy	30-45 min
4Ls	Balanced reflection	Easy	45-60 min
Mad Sad Glad	Emotional check-in	Easy	30-45 min
Sailboat	Visual teams	Medium	45-60 min
Starfish	Action-oriented	Medium	45-60 min
DAKI	Process improvement	Medium	45-60 min
Futurespective	Planning ahead	Medium	60 min
Lean Coffee	Democratic discussion	Medium	45-60 min

Classic Formats

These tried-and-true formats work for any team and are perfect for those new to retrospectives.

Start Stop Continue

The Start Stop Continue format is the most popular retrospective format for good reason—it’s simple, actionable, and works for any team.

The three categories:

Start: What should we begin doing?
Stop: What isn’t working and should end?
Continue: What’s working well and should persist?

Best for: New teams, first retrospectives, when you need quick actionable outcomes.

Duration: 30-45 minutes

Read the complete Start Stop Continue guide →

4Ls Retrospective

The 4Ls retrospective (Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For) provides a balanced view of the sprint by capturing both emotional responses and practical needs.

The four categories:

Liked: What did the team enjoy?
Learned: What new knowledge was gained?
Lacked: What was missing or insufficient?
Longed For: What did the team wish they had?

Best for: Teams wanting balanced emotional and practical reflection.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete 4Ls Retrospective guide →

Mad Sad Glad

Mad Sad Glad focuses on emotional responses to the sprint, helping teams process feelings before jumping to solutions.

The three categories:

Mad: What frustrated or angered the team?
Sad: What disappointed or discouraged the team?
Glad: What made the team happy or proud?

Best for: Teams needing emotional decompression, after difficult sprints.

Duration: 30-45 minutes

Read the complete Mad Sad Glad guide →

What Went Well

A straightforward format focusing on positives and areas for improvement.

The two categories:

What Went Well: Successes and wins
What Could Be Improved: Opportunities for growth

Best for: Quick retrospectives, positive framing.

Duration: 20-30 minutes

Read the complete What Went Well guide →

Plus Delta

Similar to What Went Well but with forward-looking “Delta” (change) items.

The two categories:

Plus (+): What worked well
Delta (Δ): What to change

Best for: Quick reviews, continuous improvement focus.

Duration: 20-30 minutes

Read the complete Plus Delta guide →

Keep Drop Try

Action-oriented format that emphasizes experimentation.

The three categories:

Keep: Practices to maintain
Drop: Things to stop doing
Try: New experiments to run

Best for: Teams with established practices looking to iterate.

Duration: 30-45 minutes

Read the complete Keep Drop Try guide →

Visual & Metaphor Formats

These formats use visual metaphors to make retrospectives more engaging and accessible.

Sailboat Retrospective

The Sailboat retrospective uses a sailing metaphor where the team is on a boat journey toward their goal.

The elements:

Wind (Sails): What’s pushing us forward?
Anchor: What’s holding us back?
Rocks: What risks lie ahead?
Island/Goal: Where are we headed?

Best for: Visual teams, strategic discussions, identifying blockers.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete Sailboat Retrospective guide →

Starfish Retrospective

The Starfish retrospective expands on Start Stop Continue with five action-oriented categories.

The five points:

Keep Doing: Working well, continue as-is
Less Of: Doing too much of this
More Of: Working well, do more
Stop Doing: Not working, eliminate
Start Doing: New things to try

Best for: Nuanced action planning, established teams.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete Starfish Retrospective guide →

Hot Air Balloon

Teams are passengers in a hot air balloon trying to rise higher.

The elements:

Hot Air (Fire): What’s lifting us up?
Sandbags: What’s weighing us down?
Sunny Skies: What’s going well?
Storm Clouds: What challenges lie ahead?

Best for: Optimistic framing, visual teams.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete Hot Air Balloon guide →

Speed Car / Race Car

The team is a racing crew trying to go faster.

The elements:

Engine: What’s powering us forward?
Parachute: What’s slowing us down?
Bridge: What helps us overcome obstacles?

Best for: Performance-focused teams, velocity discussions.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete Speed Car Retrospective guide →

Mountain Climber

The team is climbing toward a summit.

The elements:

Summit: The goal we’re working toward
Climbing Gear: Tools and practices helping us
Obstacles: Challenges on the path
Base Camp: Where we started / our foundation

Best for: Long-term projects, milestone retrospectives.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete Mountain Climber guide →

Rocket Ship

The team is launching into space.

The elements:

Rocket Fuel: What’s propelling us?
Gravity: What’s pulling us down?
Mission Control: Who’s supporting us?
Stars: Our goals and aspirations

Best for: Ambitious teams, launch retrospectives.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete Rocket Ship guide →

Advanced Formats

For experienced teams looking for deeper insights.

DAKI Retrospective

DAKI (Drop, Add, Keep, Improve) provides clear action categories for process improvement.

The four categories:

Drop: Stop doing entirely
Add: Start doing something new
Keep: Continue doing
Improve: Do better

Best for: Process-focused teams, continuous improvement.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete DAKI Retrospective guide →

Rose Bud Thorn

A gardening metaphor focusing on growth and challenges.

The three elements:

Rose: What’s blooming? (successes)
Bud: What’s emerging? (potential)
Thorn: What’s prickly? (challenges)

Best for: Balanced optimistic framing, creative teams.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete Rose Bud Thorn guide →

Lean Coffee

A democratic, agenda-less format where participants vote on discussion topics.

How it works:

Everyone writes topics on cards
Group votes on what to discuss
Time-boxed discussions (5-8 minutes each)
Vote to continue or move on

Best for: Teams with many topics, democratic facilitation.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete Lean Coffee guide →

Six Thinking Hats

Based on Edward de Bono’s framework, teams wear different “hats” to view issues from multiple perspectives.

The six hats:

White: Facts and information
Red: Emotions and feelings
Black: Caution and risks
Yellow: Optimism and benefits
Green: Creativity and ideas
Blue: Process and control

Best for: Complex problems, thorough analysis.

Duration: 60-90 minutes

Read the complete Six Thinking Hats guide →

Futurespective

Instead of looking back, look forward to anticipate challenges and plan for success.

Common prompts:

Imagine the next sprint is wildly successful—what happened?
What could go wrong? How do we prevent it?
What do we need to do differently?

Best for: Planning ahead, pre-mortems, new initiatives.

Duration: 60 minutes

Read the complete Futurespective guide →

Pre-Mortem

Imagine the project has failed—what went wrong? Use this to identify and prevent risks.

How it works:

“It’s [future date]. The project has failed completely.”
“What happened? What went wrong?”
Brainstorm failure causes
Create prevention actions

Best for: Risk identification, project kickoffs.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete Pre-Mortem guide →

Timeline Retrospective

For longer projects, map events chronologically to identify patterns.

How it works:

Create a timeline of the period
Team members add events (positive and negative)
Discuss patterns and turning points
Extract lessons learned

Best for: End of project, quarterly reviews, long sprints.

Duration: 60-90 minutes

Read the complete Timeline Retrospective guide →

Fun & Engagement Formats

Keep retrospectives fresh with these creative approaches.

The Good, Bad, and Ugly

Western movie theme for categorizing experiences.

The three categories:

The Good: Wins and successes
The Bad: Things that didn’t work
The Ugly: The really painful stuff

Best for: Honest discussions, teams comfortable with each other.

Duration: 30-45 minutes

Read the complete Good Bad Ugly guide →

Spotify Squad Health Check

Based on Spotify’s engineering culture, assess team health across multiple dimensions.

Sample dimensions:

Easy to release
Suitable process
Tech quality
Fun
Learning
Mission clarity
Support

Best for: Regular health monitoring, team self-assessment.

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Read the complete Spotify Health Check guide →

Energy Levels

Simple check on team energy and what affects it.

The prompts:

What gives you energy?
What drains your energy?
Current energy level (1-10)

Best for: Team wellness, burnout prevention.

Duration: 20-30 minutes

Read the complete Energy Levels guide →

One Word

Each person summarizes the sprint in one word, then discusses.

How it works:

Everyone writes one word capturing the sprint
Share words simultaneously
Discuss why each word was chosen
Look for patterns

Best for: Quick check-ins, conversation starters.

Duration: 15-20 minutes

Read the complete One Word guide →

How to Choose the Right Format

By Team Experience

Team Type	Recommended Formats
New to retros	Start Stop Continue, What Went Well
Some experience	4Ls, Mad Sad Glad, Sailboat
Experienced	DAKI, Lean Coffee, Six Hats
Retro fatigue	Visual formats, One Word, themed

By Sprint Outcome

Situation	Recommended Formats
Successful sprint	What Went Well, Starfish
Challenging sprint	Mad Sad Glad, Timeline
Normal sprint	Start Stop Continue, 4Ls
Planning ahead	Futurespective, Pre-Mortem

By Time Available

Time	Recommended Formats
15-20 min	One Word, Energy Levels
30-45 min	Start Stop Continue, Mad Sad Glad
45-60 min	4Ls, Sailboat, DAKI
60+ min	Lean Coffee, Timeline, Six Hats

Common Retrospective Mistakes

Regardless of format, avoid these pitfalls:

Running the same format every time - Rotate to maintain engagement
Skipping action items - Every retro needs concrete next steps
Allowing blame - Focus on processes, not people
Facilitator dominating - Let the team lead discussion
No follow-up - Review previous action items

Learn more in our guide to retrospective anti-patterns.

Best Practices for Any Format

Set the stage with the Retrospective Prime Directive
Time-box each phase to keep momentum
Ensure psychological safety for honest feedback
Create SMART action items with owners
Follow up on previous retrospective actions

Facilitating Remote Retrospectives

All these formats work for remote teams with the right tools. See our complete guide to remote retrospectives for tips on:

Keeping distributed teams engaged
Managing time zones
Async retrospective options

Start Your Retrospective with RetroFlow

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Start Free Retrospective →

What is a Sprint Retrospective? - Complete beginner’s guide
Sprint Retrospective Questions - 100+ questions by category
How to Facilitate a Retrospective - Step-by-step facilitation guide
Best Free Retrospective Tools - Tool comparison guide
Movie Poster Retrospective - A creative visual format

Retrospective Formats Retrospectives Templates Facilitation