cloudthinker-ai Sprint Retrospective
Phase 1: Sprint Data Review
Gather objective data about the sprint before discussion.
- Sprint goal(s): ___
- Sprint goal met: Yes / Partially / No
- Stories committed: ___ | Stories completed: ___
- Story points committed: ___ | Story points completed: ___
- Bugs found during sprint: ___
- Unplanned work added mid-sprint: ___ items, ___ points
- Carry-over from previous sprint: ___ items
Previous Retro Action Items Status:
| Action Item | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Done / In Progress / Not Started |
Phase 2: Team Reflection
Each team member contributes to these categories (timebox: 10 minutes).
What went well:
What could be improved:
What puzzled or surprised us:
Phase 3: Discussion and Theming
Group related items and discuss root causes (timebox: 20 minutes).
| Theme | Related Items | Root Cause | Impact (H/M/L) |
|---|---|---|---|
- Identify top 2-3 themes by team vote or dot voting
- Discuss root causes for highest-impact themes
- Distinguish between team-solvable vs. organizational issues
Phase 4: Action Commitments
Define specific, achievable actions for the next sprint (limit to 2-3).
| Action | Owner | Due Date | Success Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
- Each action has a single owner
- Actions are achievable within one sprint
- Success criteria are measurable
- Actions are added to the next sprint backlog
Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "We can skip some steps for this case" | Adapt the workflow steps, don't skip them | Skipped steps are where incidents and oversights originate |
| "The user seems to already know what to do" | Complete all workflow phases with the user | The workflow catches blind spots that experience alone misses |
| "This is a minor case, full process is overkill" | Scale the process down, don't turn it off | Minor cases become major when unstructured; the process scales, not disappears |
| "I'll fill in the details later" | Complete each section before moving on | Deferred details are forgotten; real-time capture is more accurate |
| "The template output isn't necessary" | Always produce the structured output format | Structured output enables comparison, audit trails, and handoff to other teams |
Output Format
Summary
- Team: ___
- Sprint: ___
- Sprint goal achieved: ___
- Velocity: ___ points
- Top theme: ___
- Actions committed: ___
Action Items
- Add retro actions to next sprint backlog
- Follow up on incomplete actions from previous retro
- Share retro summary with stakeholders if applicable
- Schedule next retrospective