Retro format 03 of 27
4Ls retrospective
Four columns that cover both the good and the gaps, with a column for what people learned.
- 45–65 min
- 2 to 20 people
- Great remote
Good for
The end of a project or a release, when there is a lot to learn from and something to celebrate.
Also called: 4Ls retrospective
Facilitator tip
Lacked and Longed for overlap. Merge them when you cluster and spend the saved time on actions.
The 4Ls board, drawn out.
4 areas: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for. Draw the columns on your whiteboard before the retro. Here's what a software team might put in each.
1Liked
Feature flags made the rollout calm
2Learned
The import job needs idempotency keys
3Lacked
Test data for EU customers
4Longed for
A product owner in the room on day one
How to run a 4Ls retrospective.
About 65 minutes as written. Change the length in the agenda builder below and every step scales with it.
- 1
Check in
5 min
Say why you're here and that the retro is about the system, not people. Go through last retro's action items: done, in progress, or dropped on purpose.
- 2
Write silently
10 min
Everyone fills the four columns. Ask for at least one note in Learned.
- 3
Read out by column
12 min
Go column by column: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for.
- 4
Group and dot-vote
5 min
Cluster notes that say the same thing and name each cluster. Everyone gets three votes. Sort by votes.
- 5
Discuss Lacked and Longed for
18 min
The gaps are where actions come from. Turn each top note into a specific change.
- 6
Agree action items
10 min
Pick one to three actions from the top topics. Each gets one owner and a due date, and goes into the next sprint's backlog, not only the retro notes.
- 7
Close
5 min
Read the actions and owners back. Ask everyone to rate the retro 1 to 5 (return on time invested) and change one thing next time if the scores are low.
Prompts to put on the board.
Read one out when the writing stalls, or paste them next to the columns.
- What did you like about how we worked on this?
- What did you learn: about the codebase, the customer, a tool, each other?
- What did we lack: docs, test data, access, a decision, people?
- What did you long for that would have made this easier?
Your 4Ls agenda, timed to your slot.
Fill in the team and the time. Copy the agenda into Confluence, Notion or Google Docs as formatted text, or grab the Markdown.
Length
- 0:00–0:05Check in · 5 min
- 0:05–0:15Write silently · 10 min
- 0:15–0:27Read out by column · 12 min
- 0:27–0:32Group and dot-vote · 5 min
- 0:32–0:50Discuss Lacked and Longed for · 18 min
- 0:50–1:00Agree action items · 10 min
- 1:00–1:05Close · 5 min
Payments team Sprint 14 retro: 4Ls: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for
Length: 65 min
Four columns that cover both the good and the gaps, with a column for what people learned. The end of a project or a release, when there is a lot to learn from and something to celebrate.
Agenda
| Time | Step | Min |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:05 | Check in | 5 |
| 0:05–0:15 | Write silently | 10 |
| 0:15–0:27 | Read out by column | 12 |
| 0:27–0:32 | Group and dot-vote | 5 |
| 0:32–0:50 | Discuss Lacked and Longed for | 18 |
| 0:50–1:00 | Agree action items | 10 |
| 1:00–1:05 | Close | 5 |
How to run each step
- Check in (5 min). Say why you're here and that the retro is about the system, not people. Go through last retro's action items: done, in progress, or dropped on purpose.
- Write silently (10 min). Everyone fills the four columns. Ask for at least one note in Learned.
- Read out by column (12 min). Go column by column: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for.
- Group and dot-vote (5 min). Cluster notes that say the same thing and name each cluster. Everyone gets three votes. Sort by votes.
- Discuss Lacked and Longed for (18 min). The gaps are where actions come from. Turn each top note into a specific change.
- Agree action items (10 min). Pick one to three actions from the top topics. Each gets one owner and a due date, and goes into the next sprint's backlog, not only the retro notes.
- Close (5 min). Read the actions and owners back. Ask everyone to rate the retro 1 to 5 (return on time invested) and change one thing next time if the scores are low.
Board
- Liked
- Learned
- Lacked
- Longed for
Prompts
- What did you like about how we worked on this?
- What did you learn: about the codebase, the customer, a tool, each other?
- What did we lack: docs, test data, access, a decision, people?
- What did you long for that would have made this easier?
Last retro's action items
| Action | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|
Action items
| Action | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|
Copy pastes as formatted text into Google Docs, Notion or Confluence. Markdown is for GitHub, Jira or Slack.
Try next, when this one gets stale.
- 04
Sailboat
- 45–60 min
- 2 to 20
- Great remote
- 01
Start Stop Continue
- 30–60 min
- 2 to 20
- Great remote
- 02
Mad Sad Glad
- 30–60 min
- 2 to 20
- Great remote
Book the retro on a day the whole team is in.
A retro with two people out hears half the sprint, and its actions have no owners. Forgot shows sprints, holidays and time off on one board, so you can see who's out on retro day before you send the invite.
4Ls retrospective questions
What is a 4Ls retrospective?
Four columns that cover both the good and the gaps, with a column for what people learned. The end of a project or a release, when there is a lot to learn from and something to celebrate.
How long does a 4Ls retro take?
45 minutes at the shortest, and about 65 minutes as written here. The agenda builder on this page stretches or squeezes each step to fit your slot.
Can you run 4Ls remotely?
Yes, it works well on a video call. Set up the board on a shared whiteboard before the call, give everyone silent writing time with cameras optional, and use anonymous dot-voting.
What goes on a 4Ls board?
4 areas: Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for. For example, from a software team: Liked: “Feature flags made the rollout calm”; Learned: “The import job needs idempotency keys”; Lacked: “Test data for EU customers”; Longed for: “A product owner in the room on day one”.
What team size is 4Ls for?
2 to 20 people. With more people, split into groups for the writing and discussion, then bring the top topics back together.
What can I run instead of 4Ls?
Sailboat, Start Stop Continue, Mad Sad Glad. They suit similar sprints from a different angle. Rotate formats every two to four sprints so the retro doesn't go stale.