Sprint Retrospective Checklist Template

What the Sprint Retrospective Checklist Covers

1. 1
   Phase 1

   Phase 1: Prepare the Retrospective

   7 tasks

   Start this checklist a few days before the sprint ends. Enter the retrospective date and the next retrospective date on the first task: preparation counts back from the retrospective date, the meeting tasks fall on it, the record and sharing count forward from it, and the follow-through counts back from the next retrospective date.

   • Set up the retrospective: the team, the sprint, the dates and who does what — the team and the sprint, the sprint length, the date of this retrospective and the next one, whether the team meets in person, remotely or both, whether observations are anonymous, and the facilitator, Scrum Master, Product Owner and developers
   • Book the retrospective inside its timebox — after the Sprint Review and before the sprint ends, for at most three hours for a one-month sprint and usually less for a shorter one, with the whole Scrum Team invited and nobody else unless the team asks
   • Pick a format for this retrospective — one that suits what the team needs this time, for example start, stop, continue; what went well, what did not and what to try; or a timeline of the sprint; changing the format now and then keeps the conversation fresh
   • Set up the room or the online board — a private room with wall space and sticky notes, or an online board with the format’s columns ready, a space for the sprint facts and a space for the actions
   • Remote or hybrid: test the online board and how everyone takes part — the board link in the invitation, everyone able to add and move notes, sound and cameras checked, and a plan so people on the call are heard as much as people in the room
   • Review the last retrospective’s actions — each action from last time marked done, partly done or not done, and whether it made the difference the team hoped for
   • Send the invitation with the purpose and the format — the date and time, the format, the board link if the team meets online, and a reminder that the retrospective is about how the team works, not about blaming anyone
2. 2
   Phase 2

   Phase 2: Gather the Data

   5 tasks

   Collect the facts of the sprint and each person’s observations before the meeting, so the time together goes on understanding them rather than remembering them. Anonymous observations, chosen on the first task, add a task to set up how they are collected.

   • Anonymous input: set up a way to add observations without names — a form or a board setting that hides names, opened a few days before the meeting, and a promise that the facilitator will not try to work out who wrote what
   • Gather the sprint facts — the sprint goal and whether it was met, what was completed and what was not, incidents, interruptions and unplanned work, and any change to the team, its tools or its priorities during the sprint
   • Note where the Definition of Done was hard to meet — any item that did not meet done, and any part of the Definition of Done that was skipped, unclear or out of date this sprint
   • Each person adds their observations — what helped, what got in the way and what puzzled them, one point per note, written before the meeting or in its first few minutes, about the work and the way of working rather than about individuals
   • Read the observations and prepare the board — every note on the board, obvious duplicates put side by side, the sprint facts at the top, and nothing removed or reworded
3. 3
   Phase 3

   Phase 3: Set the Stage & Generate Insights

   7 tasks

   In the meeting, on the retrospective date. Start from the same facts, group what people noticed into themes, choose the few that matter most and look for causes in the work and the system, not in people. A sprint goal that was partly met or missed adds a task to look at why.

   • Open the retrospective and set the stage — the purpose and the timebox, the format, and how the team works together in this meeting: everyone’s view counts, one conversation at a time, and the conversation is about the work, not about blame
   • Walk through the sprint facts and the last actions — the goal outcome, the main events of the sprint and how last time’s actions went, briefly, so everyone starts from the same picture
   • Read out the observations and group them into themes — duplicates merged, similar notes clustered and each theme named, with anyone able to say a note sits in the wrong group
   • Choose the few themes that matter most — by a quick vote or discussion, usually two or three, favouring the ones the team can do something about
   • Look for the causes of each chosen theme — ask why it happened and what in the process, the tools or the situation made it likely, until the team reaches something it can change; causes, not blame
   • Goal not met: look at why the sprint goal was missed — whether the goal was too big, unclear or changed during the sprint, what interrupted the work, and what the team learned too late, recorded as facts about the sprint, not about people
   • Note what went well and should continue — what helped this sprint, so the team keeps doing it on purpose rather than by chance
4. 4
   Phase 4

   Phase 4: Decide the Actions

   5 tasks

   A few specific improvements, each with an owner, a date and a way to check it worked. Actions from the last retrospective that were not done get a decision, and the most impactful improvement can go into the next Sprint Backlog.

   • Agree a small number of specific improvements — one to three changes the team will make in the next sprint, each written so anyone could tell whether it happened, rather than a general wish to do better
   • Give each action an owner, a date and a check — one owner, a date in the next sprint, and how the team will know whether the change helped
   • Unfinished actions: decide whether to keep, change or drop each one — for each action from last time that was not done: keep it with a new date, change it so it can be done, or drop it with the reason, so old actions do not pile up unspoken
   • Decide whether an improvement goes into the next Sprint Backlog — the most impactful improvement can be planned alongside the sprint’s other work, so it gets time rather than waiting for a quiet moment
   • Agree anything that needs help from outside the team — impediments the team cannot remove on its own, who will raise each one and with whom, so they are not left as a complaint on the board
5. 5
   Phase 5

   Phase 5: Close the Meeting

   4 tasks

   Agree what goes in the record, check how the retrospective itself went and finish within the timebox. A sensitive issue raised in the meeting adds a private follow-up for the facilitator and stays out of the shared record.

   • Read back the actions and agree the record — the themes, the causes, the actions with their owners and dates, and what the shared record will say, agreed before anyone leaves
   • Agree what stays out of the shared record — personal matters and anything said in confidence stay out; facts and decisions go in, without who said what
   • Check how the retrospective itself went — a quick round or a show of fingers on whether the time was useful, and one thing to change about the next retrospective
   • Close on time and thank the team — finish within the timebox; anything unfinished goes to the next retrospective or a separate conversation with the people who need to be in it
6. 6
   Phase 6

   Phase 6: Confirm the Record & Actions

   4 tasks

   The facilitator writes up the record the same day and the Scrum Master confirms it by the next working day. That confirmation is the gate: nothing in Phases 7 and 8 can be completed until it is done.

   • Write up the retrospective record — the date, who took part, the sprint facts, the themes and causes, the actions with owners, dates and checks, and the feedback on the meeting itself, with no names against comments
   • Sensitive issue: the facilitator follows up privately — a private conversation with the people involved by the next working day, the next steps agreed with them, and a manager or HR involved only where your organisation’s policy says so; nothing about it goes in the shared record
   • Check every action has an owner, a date and a check — any vague action rewritten with its owner before the record is shared, and no more actions than the team can do in one sprint
   • Scrum Master confirms the record and the actions — the record matches what the team agreed, every action is specific and owned, and nothing private is in it; nothing after this task can be completed until it is done
7. 7
   Phase 7

   Phase 7: Share the Record

   4 tasks

   Share the record with the whole team. Outside the team, share it only if the team agrees, and never who said what. These tasks count from the retrospective date.

   • Share the record with the Scrum Team — in the team’s usual place, such as the wiki, the shared drive or the team channel, on the day it is confirmed
   • Raise the agreed impediments with the people who can remove them — each impediment from Phase 4 taken to the manager, team or supplier who can act on it, with what the team needs and by when
   • Update the working agreement or the Definition of Done if an action changes them — the changed wording written into the document the team works from, so the improvement lasts beyond the next sprint; mark not applicable if nothing changes
   • Share a summary outside the team only if the team agrees — the actions and any help needed, for a manager or another team, with the team’s agreement and without who said what; mark not applicable if the team keeps it within the team
8. 8
   Phase 8

   Phase 8: Follow Through in the Next Sprint

   6 tasks

   Actions only count when they are done. The first two tasks count from the retrospective date; the rest count back from the next retrospective date, so the results are ready when the team meets again.

   • Sprint Backlog: add the improvement at Sprint Planning — the Product Owner or the developers add the agreed improvement to the next Sprint Backlog at Sprint Planning, so it is planned and sized like the sprint’s other work
   • Put each action where the team tracks its work — on the sprint board or task list beside the sprint’s other work, with its owner and date, so it is seen at every Daily Scrum
   • Check progress on each action during the sprint — at a Daily Scrum or in a quick check: on track, stuck or done, and help offered where an action is stuck
   • Book the next retrospective and start its checklist — the date in everyone’s calendar, a facilitator chosen, and the next run of this checklist started so its first task lists these actions
   • Owners complete their actions — each owner finishes their action by its date, or says early if it will slip so the team can help or change it
   • Record the result of each action for the next retrospective — done or not, and whether the check showed it helped, ready for the review of last actions at the start of the next retrospective