Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: f04e871aaf37fc67a56f44844e862e9dd7ae4ee537eea9aa84357282040fbc51

# The Elvis Retrospective

Teams categorize reflections under five Elvis Presley song titles to uncover hidden risks, stalled discussions, and immediate priorities. They cluster observations and choose concrete action commitments.

**Time:** 45 minutes. UWT suggested full retro timing; source materials specify prompt categories without minute breakdowns.
**People:** 4 to 24. Individual reflection, followed by table groups of 4 to 6 people or a single whole group for smaller cohorts.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Surface unnoticed risks, unresolved recurring debates, and urgent priorities across recent project work.
**Use it when:** Use during sprint or milestone reviews with an established team that needs to move past talk into action and identify blind spots.
**Skip it when:** Skip for brand-new teams without shared history, or during acute conflict where metaphorical prompts add confusion.

## Materials and tools

- 5 wall posters or digital columns labeled with the category prompts
- Sticky notes (at least 15 notes per participant)
- Fine markers or pens (1 per person)
- Dot stickers for voting (3 per person)
- Timer or visible clock

## Before participants arrive

1. Create 5 distinct columns or poster stations around the room: 1. Always On My Mind, 2. A Little Less Conversation, 3. Now Or Never, 4. Blue Suede Shoes, 5. Devil In Disguise.
2. Write the prompt question clearly under each title.
3. Place sticky notes, markers, and voting dots at each table.

## Say this to open

Welcome. Today we are reviewing our recent work using five prompts named after classic Elvis Presley songs. We want to identify what should stay front and center, what we talk about without acting on, what needs urgent attention, what sensitive areas need careful handling, and what hidden dangers we might be missing. Write silently first so everyone has room to think.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce prompts (5 minutes)

Explain the five categories using the poster prompts. Give an explicit neutral example for each category, such as noting under 'Devil in Disguise' that an upcoming vendor dependency has no confirmed delivery date.

### 2. Silent generation (10 minutes)

Participants write ideas independently on sticky notes, one thought per note. They may contribute to any category or pass on categories that do not apply. Aim for at least one note per person across the board.

### 3. Post and cluster (10 minutes)

Participants place their sticky notes in the matching columns. If working in subgroups of 4 to 6, split the categories across groups to cluster duplicate themes. Otherwise, invite the full group to review the wall together and group related notes.

### 4. Prioritize and select (8 minutes)

Give each participant 3 voting dots. Everyone votes on the items or clusters that most urgently require action or team attention. Tally the top 2 to 3 priority items.

### 5. Action planning and debrief (12 minutes)

Discuss the top-voted topics. Write down concrete next steps, naming an owner and a review date for each. Close with debrief questions.


## Debrief questions

- Which item under 'A Little Less Conversation' can we resolve this week?
- What subtle risk from 'Devil in Disguise' surprised you the most?
- What is one thing we agreed to drop or change immediately?

**Finished output:** A list of prioritized team observations with at least one assigned action item including an owner and deadline.

## Remote

Set up a digital whiteboard with five columns for the song titles and questions. Keep video active. Run silent writing directly on virtual sticky notes for 10 minutes, use voting tags for prioritization, and document actions in a shared team space.

## Hybrid

In-person members use physical sticky notes while a designated hybrid scribe photographs or duplicates them onto the digital board, or all participants use the digital whiteboard from their laptops while sitting together in the room.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may submit written notes anonymously or pass on speaking during the review.
- Printed handouts with large text definitions of all five prompts for participants who prefer reading at their desk.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants do not understand the song references.**

Remind the room that the pop culture reference is just a label; direct their focus entirely to the plain question prompt written under each header.

**The group spends all their time rehashing old complaints under 'A Little Less Conversation' without proposing fixes.**

Intervene and enforce a rule: every complaint moved into the discussion must be paired immediately with a suggested action or an explicit decision to drop it.


## Terms used here

- Blue Suede Shoes: A metaphor in this retrospective for delicate topics, fragile systems, or relationships where people must tread lightly.
- Devil in Disguise: A metaphor for an overlooked threat, hidden dependency, or unseen risk.

## Participant material: Elvis Retrospective Prompt Guide

Category 1: Always on My Mind
Question: What is, or should be, top of mind for our team?

Category 2: A Little Less Conversation
Question: What are we always talking about, but not taking enough action on?

Category 3: Now or Never
Question: What needs action right now, or should be dropped completely?

Category 4: Blue Suede Shoes
Question: What should we not step on? Where should we be extra careful?

Category 5: Devil in Disguise
Question: What danger or risk are we currently missing?

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in EasyRetro templates, which attribute the specific template creation to Anni Mononen.

Retained the exact five retrospective prompts and guiding questions created by Anni Mononen from the EasyRetro source records. Added a full 45-minute facilitation sequence (timing, clustering, dot-voting, action agreement), neutral examples, hybrid accommodations, and access options developed by UWT.

[EasyRetro](https://easyretro.io/templates/elvis-retrospective-always-on-my-mind-little-less-conversation)

[EasyRetro](https://easyretro.io/templates/elvis-retrospective-always-on-my-mind-little-less-conversation/)

[Miro](https://miro.com/templates/the-elvis-retrospective/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/the-elvis-retrospective/