--- title: "Lullaby Retro" description: "Team members post reflections under three song-themed prompts to review successes, breakdowns, and peer support, then record actions and acknowledgments." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/lullaby-retro/" --- # Lullaby Retro Team members post reflections under three song-themed prompts to review successes, breakdowns, and peer support, then record actions and acknowledgments. **Time:** 15 minutes. Evidence lists a nominal 1-minute platform placeholder; UWT suggests 15 minutes for a full three-column reflection and debrief. **People:** 4 to 24. Individual reflection, subgroups of 3 to 5 (with pairs or groups of 6 allowed to absorb remainders), whole-group debrief ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Collect sprint observations categorized by successes, breakdowns, and helpful support to identify operational changes and acknowledgments. **Use it when:** At the end of a sprint or work cycle to surface delivery issues and recognize collaborative support alongside successes. **Skip it when:** When the team faces severe conflict, technical post-mortems requiring detailed causal analysis, or when song metaphors undermine a critical topic. ## Materials and tools - Sticky notes (3 pads of distinct colors or plain notes) - Felt-tip markers (1 per person) - Wall space or whiteboard with three pre-labeled columns - Countdown timer - Laptop or tablet for designated scribe (hybrid only) ## Before participants arrive 1. Draw three columns on the board labeled: 'You Are My Sunshine' (What went well?), 'London Bridge Is Falling Down' (What didn't go well?), and 'You've Got a Friend in Me' (Who supported us?). 2. Distribute sticky notes and markers to each participant. ## Say this to open Welcome to our retrospective. Today we are organizing our recent work under three familiar song prompts: 'You Are My Sunshine' for what went well, 'London Bridge Is Falling Down' for what broke or stalled, and 'You've Got a Friend in Me' for peers, teams, or partners who gave valuable support. Take three minutes to write your notes privately. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce prompts and write notes (4 minutes) Explain the three prompts using the opening script. Direct participants to write one point per sticky note. For example, under the support prompt, a note might read 'Ops team helped fix staging permissions within an hour.' Keep writing silent and independent. Participants may write as many notes as they wish, or choose to pass on writing for any column. ### 2. Post and cluster notes (3 minutes) Invite those who wrote notes to place their sticky notes in the matching columns on the board. Ask volunteers to group identical or closely related points together without debating them yet. ### 3. Review in small groups (4 minutes) Distribute participants into small groups of 3 to 5 (or pairs and groups of 6 if needed for exact numbers). Assign each group one of the three board columns. When there are more groups than columns, assign multiple groups to the same column, directing each group to examine a distinct cluster of notes. Have each group identify primary themes and write one clear process change or thank-you note on a sticky note to post. ### 4. Debrief and capture actions (4 minutes) Reconvene the room. Have all groups post their written process adjustments and thank-you notes in a designated action area on the board. Call on up to four groups to speak aloud about their selections within the time limit. Confirm all posted actions and recognitions are visible to the room. ## Debrief questions - What support did we receive this cycle that we should make standard practice? - Which breakdown in the falling-down column needs a clear process change next sprint? - Who outside our core group deserves a direct note of appreciation today? **Finished output:** A board of categorized observations with posted process improvements and named acknowledgments of teammate support from all participating subgroups. ## Remote Set up a digital board with three labeled columns matching the song prompts. Give participants three minutes of quiet typing directly onto digital sticky notes. Use digital grouping tools to cluster duplicates, then spend four minutes reviewing main themes via voice or chat. ## Hybrid Remote participants add notes to a shared digital whiteboard. As in-person participants post physical notes, the designated in-person scribe transcribes them onto the digital board before clustering begins. In-person and remote participants then review and cluster cards on the shared digital screen so everyone works from the identical layout. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may submit reflections aloud, on paper, or electronically via chat. - Any participant may pass on writing or speaking during small-group and room-wide sharing without explanation. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants get hung up on literal interpretations of the lullaby songs.** Remind everyone the titles are simple shorthand: what went well, what broke down, and who helped out. **The support column turns into personal popularity voting.** Prompt the team to focus on specific actions, tools, or teams that removed blockers rather than vague compliments. ## Terms used here - Sprint: A fixed time window, usually one to three weeks, during which a team completes an agreed set of work. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in EasyRetro template directory, attributed to user Maya. Retained the three core song prompts and diagnostic questions from the EasyRetro user template by Maya. UWT added group size adjustments accommodating remainder counts (allowing pairs or groups of 6), column distribution rules for multiple groups across the three columns, sticky note consistency for outputs, time allocation (15 minutes instead of the platform default 1 minute), synchronized hybrid scribe transcription, and debrief prompts. [EasyRetro](https://easyretro.io/templates/lullaby-retro/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/lullaby-retro/