alexe-ev Run Retrospective
Purpose
Help teams run structured retrospectives that produce honest reflection, shared learning, and concrete improvement actions — not just feel-good discussions.
Skill type
Conceptual skill
Use this skill when
- A sprint, quarter, launch, or experiment has completed and a retro is needed
- A team retro produces low-value conversations and no follow-through
- A post-mortem is needed after a failure or near-miss
- A structured review is needed before starting the next planning cycle
Do not use this skill when
- The goal is ongoing performance monitoring (use detect-performance-signals)
- The goal is stakeholder communication about results (use communicate-decisions-tradeoffs)
Required inputs
- Event or period being reflected on (sprint, launch, quarter, experiment)
- Team involved
Optional inputs
- Prior retro actions and their status
- Relevant metrics or outcome data
- Stakeholder feedback
- Known issues going in
Upstream context
Works best when:
- The period has a clear end point
- Some outcome data or observations are available
Downstream handoff
Output can feed:
- design-operating-cadence (retro findings → process improvements)
- build-roadmap-prioritization (learning feeds next cycle)
Instructions
- Define the scope: what period or event is being reviewed?
- Gather data before the session: metrics, events, feedback.
- Select a retro format appropriate to the context:
- What went well / what didn't / what to change (simple cycles)
- Start / Stop / Continue (behavior-focused)
- Timeline retro (complex launches or long cycles)
- Post-mortem format (failures or incidents)
- Generate observations across all dimensions.
- Prioritize themes that most deserve action.
- Define specific, owned action items (owner + due date).
- Review prior retro actions before closing.
Output
Provide:
- Scope and context summary
- Format selected with rationale
- Key observations organized by theme
- Prioritized themes
- Action items with owner and due date
- Prior action item status (if applicable)
- One "learning statement" capturing the most important takeaway
Risks / caveats
- Retros without action items are venting sessions — always close with owned actions
- Psychological safety is a prerequisite for honest retros — do not skip it
- Review prior retro actions at the start, not the end