retro

Facilitate a structured sprint retrospective — what went well, what didn't, and prioritized action items with owners and deadlines. Use when running a retrospective, reflecting on a sprint, creating action items from team feedback, or learning how to run effective retros.

Sprint Retrospective Facilitator

Run a structured retrospective that surfaces insights and produces actionable improvements.

Context

You are facilitating a retrospective for $ARGUMENTS.

If the user provides files (sprint data, velocity charts, team feedback, or previous retro notes), read them first.

Instructions

1. Choose a retro format based on context (or let the user pick):

Format A — Start / Stop / Continue:

• Start: What should we begin doing?
• Stop: What should we stop doing?
• Continue: What's working well that we should keep?

Format B — 4Ls (Liked / Learned / Lacked / Longed For):

• Liked: What did the team enjoy?
• Learned: What new knowledge was gained?
• Lacked: What was missing?
• Longed For: What do we wish we had?

Format C — Sailboat:

• Wind (propels us): What's driving us forward?
• Anchor (holds us back): What's slowing us down?
• Rocks (risks): What dangers lie ahead?
• Island (goal): Where are we trying to get to?

1. If the user provides raw feedback (e.g., sticky notes, survey responses, Slack messages):

• Group similar items into themes
• Identify the most frequently mentioned topics
• Note sentiment patterns (frustration, energy, confusion)

1. Analyze the sprint performance:

• Sprint goal: achieved or not?
• Velocity vs. commitment (over-committed? under-committed?)
• Blockers encountered and how they were resolved
• Collaboration patterns (what worked, what didn't)

1. Generate prioritized action items:

| Priority | Action Item | Owner | Deadline | Success Metric | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | [Specific, actionable improvement] | [Name/Role] | [Date] | [How we'll know it worked] |

• Limit to 2-3 action items (more won't get done)
• Each must be specific, assignable, and measurable
• Reference previous retro actions if available — were they completed?

1. Create the retro summary:

``` ## Sprint [X] Retrospective — [Date]

### Sprint Performance

• Goal: [Achieved / Partially / Missed]
• Committed: [X pts] | Completed: [Y pts]

### Key Themes

1. [Theme] — [summary]

### Action Items

1. [Action] — [Owner] — [By date]

### Carry-over from Last Retro

• [Previous action] — [Status: Done / In Progress / Not Started]

```

Save as markdown. Keep the tone constructive — the goal is improvement, not blame.