Retro format 17 of 27
Appreciation retrospective
Everyone thanks someone for something specific they did this sprint.
- 15–25 min
- 2 to 10 people
- Great remote
Good for
After a launch or a hard push. Also a good five minute opener or closer for any other format.
Also called: Kudos retro
Facilitator tip
Ask for specifics: what they did and what it made possible. “Thanks for everything” doesn't land.
The Appreciation board, drawn out.
No columns for this one. Here's what it looks like with a software team.
- 1Thanks Ravi for covering my on-call during the move
- 2Thanks Mia for the review that caught the double charge
- 3Thanks Leo for the runbook nobody asked for
How to run a Appreciation retrospective.
About 25 minutes as written. Change the length in the agenda builder below and every step scales with it.
- 1
Check in
3 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 kudos
4 min
Everyone writes thank-yous for specific things: a review, a fix, covering on-call.
- 3
Share
12 min
Go around. Say who, what they did and what it made possible.
- 4
One thing to keep
3 min
What behaviour behind these kudos do we want more of?
- 5
Close
3 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.
- Who helped you this sprint, and how?
- What did someone do that nobody saw?
- Who covered for someone who was out?
Your Appreciation 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
- 0:00–0:03Check in · 3 min
- 0:03–0:07Write kudos · 4 min
- 0:07–0:19Share · 12 min
- 0:19–0:22One thing to keep · 3 min
- 0:22–0:25Close · 3 min
Payments team Sprint 14 retro: Appreciation round
Length: 25 min
Everyone thanks someone for something specific they did this sprint. After a launch or a hard push. Also a good five minute opener or closer for any other format.
Agenda
| Time | Step | Min |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:03 | Check in | 3 |
| 0:03–0:07 | Write kudos | 4 |
| 0:07–0:19 | Share | 12 |
| 0:19–0:22 | One thing to keep | 3 |
| 0:22–0:25 | Close | 3 |
How to run each step
- Check in (3 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 kudos (4 min). Everyone writes thank-yous for specific things: a review, a fix, covering on-call.
- Share (12 min). Go around. Say who, what they did and what it made possible.
- One thing to keep (3 min). What behaviour behind these kudos do we want more of?
- Close (3 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
- Who helped you this sprint, and how?
- What did someone do that nobody saw?
- Who covered for someone who was out?
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.
- 09
Hot Air Balloon
- 45–57 min
- 2 to 20
- Great remote
- 13
One Word
- 15–28 min
- 2 to 20
- Great remote
- 07
Lean Coffee
- 30–55 min
- 2 to 10
- 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.
Appreciation retrospective questions
What is a Appreciation retrospective?
Everyone thanks someone for something specific they did this sprint. After a launch or a hard push. Also a good five minute opener or closer for any other format.
How long does a Appreciation retro take?
15 minutes at the shortest, and about 25 minutes as written here. The agenda builder on this page stretches or squeezes each step to fit your slot.
Can you run Appreciation 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 team size is Appreciation for?
2 to 10 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 Appreciation?
Hot Air Balloon, One Word, Lean Coffee. They suit similar sprints from a different angle. Rotate formats every two to four sprints so the retro doesn't go stale.