RetroLift / Retrospective questions

Retrospective questions: 72 to ask in your next sprint retro

A good retro rarely needs more than three or four questions. The hard part is picking the right ones for this sprint. Below are 72, grouped by the job they do, from warming the room up to agreeing what changes. Each group links to a template that asks them on a live board your team joins from one link, with no sign-up.

How to use this list

Choose one check-in question, two or three questions for the middle, and one about actions. More than that and people skim.
Write the questions as column titles on a board, so everyone answers in silence before anyone talks.
Ask the same action question every sprint ("Did last retro's actions change anything?"). It is the one that keeps retros honest.

Check-in: start the retro

Answerable in a word or a number, so everyone speaks in the first two minutes. 6 questions

In one word, how was this sprint for you?
On a scale of 1 to 5, how much energy do you have today?
If this sprint were weather, what would it be?
What is one thing on your mind that might distract you in this meeting?
Which song title sums up the last two weeks?
What are you hoping we get out of the next 45 minutes?

Open as a board →

Looking back: what happened

Rebuild a shared picture before judging anything. People remember the same sprint differently. 8 questions

What were the three biggest things that happened this sprint?
What surprised you?
When did you feel most productive, and when least?
What did we plan that did not happen, and why?
Which moment would you replay if you could?
What took much longer than we expected?
What changed in the middle of the sprint?
What did a customer or user tell us?

Open as a board → · Template guide

What went well

Not a warm-up to skip. Knowing why something worked is how you repeat it. 8 questions

What went well that we should do again on purpose?
Who helped you this sprint, and how?
What are you proud of?
Which decision turned out better than expected?
What did we finish that we had been putting off?
Where did we save time?
What did you learn from a teammate?
What is one small win nobody noticed?

Open as a board →

What to improve

Ask about habits and the system, so nobody hears "you did it wrong". 8 questions

What slowed us down?
What should we start doing?
What should we stop doing?
Where did we wait on someone, and for how long?
What did we do only because "we always do it"?
What would you change if you were in charge for a week?
What problem keeps coming back?
What is one risk we are ignoring?

Open as a board → · Template guide

Team and collaboration

Feelings and working relationships. Use these when the facts look fine but the mood does not. 8 questions

What frustrated you this sprint?
When did you feel stuck and not sure who to ask?
Do you feel you can disagree in our meetings?
Where did communication break down?
Who would you like to work with more closely?
Is the workload fair across the team?
What does the team need from you, and what do you need from the team?
What made you happy at work these two weeks?

Open as a board → · Template guide

Process and tools

For a team that wants to tune how it works rather than revisit the whole sprint. 8 questions

Which meeting could be shorter, or could go?
What should we drop from our process?
Which tool helped us, and which got in the way?
Is our definition of done still right?
Are our stand-ups useful? What would make them better?
How did our estimates compare with reality?
Where does work pile up on our board?
What should we add to our working agreement?

Open as a board → · Template guide

Getting to the cause

For the card with the most votes. Keep asking until the answer is something the team can change. 6 questions

Why did that happen? And why did that happen?
What did we know at the time, and what did we not know?
What would have had to be true for this to go well?
Is this a one-off or a pattern?
Which part of this is in our control?
What still puzzles us about this?

Open as a board →

Agreeing actions

End every retro here. Three actions at most, each with an owner and a date. 6 questions

Did the actions from last retro change anything?
What is the one change that would make the biggest difference?
What will we do differently starting tomorrow?
Who owns this, and when will we check?
How will we know next retro whether it worked?
What will we stop doing to make room for it?

Open as a board → · Template guide

End of a project or quarter

For a longer look back, when the next sprint matters less than the lessons. 8 questions

What did you like about this project?
What did you learn that you will use again?
What was missing that would have made it easier?
What do you wish we had for the next project?
If we started again tomorrow, what would we do differently?
What advice would you give a team starting the same project?
Which early decision shaped everything that followed?
What should we celebrate?

Open as a board → · Template guide

Closing the retro

Two minutes to check the retro itself was worth the time. 6 questions

Was this retro worth the time? Rate it from 1 to 5.
What is one thing you are taking away?
What should we change about how we run retros?
Is there anything you did not get to say?
In one word, how do you feel now?
Who would you like to thank before we finish?

Open as a board →

Prefer a ready-made set of questions?

Every retrospective template is a set of questions that work well together. Start with these:

Questions

What are the three classic retrospective questions?

What went well? What did not go well? What will we do differently next time? Most templates are variations on these three.

How many questions should a retrospective have?

Three or four for a 45 to 60 minute retro: one to check in, two or three to discuss, and one to agree actions.

What should I ask in a retro if the team is quiet?

Start with a one-word or 1-to-5 check-in, let people write cards in silence, and use anonymous cards for the harder questions.

Can I use my own questions on RetroLift?

Yes. Open a blank board and type any question as a column title. The board is free, and the team joins from a link with no sign-up.

RetroLift is a free retro board made by AIYUN. See also retrospective templates, retrospective games and icebreaker questions.