# Six-Point Sprint Retrospective Agenda Teams review sprint accomplishments, diagnose issues, refine quality standards, brainstorm improvements, and assign clear action items with owners. **Time:** 50 minutes. UWT suggested standard sprint retrospective timing (50 minutes) mapped across the six agenda points from the EasyRetro guide. **People:** 4 to 12. Whole group working in plenary with silent individual writing followed by paired review or round-robin sharing. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Produce an agreed list of owned action items and updated team working definitions based on sprint performance. **Use it when:** At the conclusion of an agile sprint or project delivery cycle before initiating the next planned iteration. **Skip it when:** Skip during an active mid-sprint emergency, product vision discovery, or when evaluating individual job performance rather than group workflow. ## Materials and tools - Whiteboard or wall space divided into 5 columns: Accomplishments, Issues, Standards (Ready/Done), Improvement Ideas, and Actions - Sticky notes (at least 1 pad per participant) - Markers or pens (1 per person) - Countdown timer ## Before participants arrive 1. Draw five titled columns on the shared board: 1. Accomplishments, 2. Issues, 3. Ready/Done Standards, 4. Ideas, 5. Actions (Task, Owner, Due Date). 2. Ensure previous sprint goals, completed backlog items, and current Definitions of Ready and Done are displayed or visible to everyone. ## Say this to open Welcome to our sprint retrospective. We will evaluate our work process over the last sprint across six specific steps: successes, obstacles, quality standards, improvement ideas, action commitments, and wrap-up. Our focus is on our shared system and workflow, not personal blame. ## How to run it ### 1. Review Accomplishments (8 minutes) Open the session using the opening script. Ask everyone to write completed sprint achievements, milestones, or helpful practices on sticky notes for 3 minutes. Each person places their notes in Column 1 and shares one accomplishment aloud. Example: 'We completed the payment gateway integration 2 days early.' ### 2. Identify Issues and Obstacles (10 minutes) Participants write obstacles, delays, communication gaps, or missed items on notes for 3 minutes. Group identical issues on Column 2. Facilitate a brief discussion to identify the operational cause for the top two issues. Keep comments strictly focused on tools, handoffs, and process rather than individuals. ### 3. Update Standards and Working Definitions (7 minutes) Display the team's current Definition of Ready and Definition of Done. Ask: 'Did these definitions protect our quality during this sprint?' The group decides by show of hands whether to keep them as written or adjust specific wording to address obstacles uncovered in the previous step. ### 4. Brainstorm Next Sprint Improvements (12 minutes) Set a timer for 4 minutes. Participants write ideas to improve the next sprint on notes and post them in Column 4. The group clusters duplicates. Give each participant 2 votes (using marker dots) to pick the most urgent improvement opportunities. ### 5. Assign Action Items (8 minutes) Convert the highest-voted improvement ideas into concrete action items in Column 5. For each item, record the exact task, one designated team owner, and a target date in the upcoming sprint. An item is not added unless an owner accepts it. ### 6. Close and Schedule Next Session (5 minutes) Read through the agreed action items and assigned owners. Confirm agreement from the full room. Formally log the date, time, and facilitator for the subsequent sprint retrospective. Adjourn the meeting. ## Debrief questions - Which single improvement action will have the largest impact on our upcoming sprint? - How well did our Definitions of Ready and Done reflect the reality of our delivery this sprint? **Finished output:** A documented list of prioritized action items with assigned owners and due dates, plus any confirmed revisions to the team's Definition of Ready or Definition of Done. ## Remote Use a digital whiteboard with 5 pre-configured columns matching the agenda steps. Use silent typing directly onto digital cards during writing steps, then use raise-hand features or chat for round-robin contribution. Record owners directly in the digital action column. ## Hybrid Maintain one shared digital whiteboard displayed on the physical room screen and accessible on remote laptops. Remote participants type on digital sticky notes while in-room participants write on physical notes that a co-facilitator mirrors to the digital board, or everyone uses their personal laptops while seated together. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may submit thoughts silently via written sticky notes or chat instead of speaking aloud. - Any participant may pass on speaking during round-robin sharing or volunteer for non-speaking note consolidation. ## If the session gets stuck **Discussions become defensive or assign personal blame for missed sprint items.** Intervene immediately and redirect to the process: ask what step in the workflow or environment allowed the error to happen. **Team generates too many action items to realistically complete in the next sprint.** Cap total commitments at two or three high-priority action items. Move remainder to a future backlog. ## Terms used here - Definition of Done: An agreed checklist of technical and quality criteria that a backlog item must fulfill before being marked complete. - Definition of Ready: An agreed set of criteria a work item must satisfy before the team will accept it into an active sprint. - Sprint: A fixed time box, usually one to four weeks, during which a team completes a set amount of work. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in EasyRetro's published guide 'Sprint Retrospective Meeting Agenda: What You Need To Know'. The publication applies general Scrum retrospective practices without naming a single original author. The six agenda points (Accomplishments, Issues, Standards Review, Brainstorming, Action Assignment, Closing) are derived directly from the EasyRetro blog post. UWT supplied concrete time boxes summing to 50 minutes, clear facilitation instructions, voting mechanics, specific scripts, and explicit remote/hybrid arrangements. [EasyRetro](https://easyretro.io/sprint-retrospective/sprint-retrospective-meeting-agenda-what-you-need-to-know/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/sprint-retrospective-meeting-agenda-what-you-need-to-know/