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Retro format 19 of 27

Drop Add Keep Improve retrospective

Four columns: what to drop, add, keep and improve.

  • 30–55 min
  • 2 to 20 people
  • Great remote
Build the agenda See the board

Good for

A team that has piled up process. Drop forces the question of what to let go.

Also called: DAKI

Facilitator tip

Don't leave without dropping one thing. A retro that only adds process makes the team slower.

The Drop Add Keep Improve board, drawn out.

4 areas: Drop, Add, Keep, Improve. Draw the columns on your whiteboard before the retro. Here's what a software team might put in each.

  1. 1Drop

    The Monday pre-planning meeting

  2. 2Add

    A shared on-call handover doc

  3. 3Keep

    Weekly bug triage

  4. 4Improve

    Release notes: write them as we go

How to run a Drop Add Keep Improve retrospective.

About 55 minutes as written. Change the length in the agenda builder below and every step scales with it.

  1. 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. 2

    Write silently

    8 min

    Everyone fills the four columns.

  3. 3

    Read out

    10 min

    Start with Drop.

  4. 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. 5

    Discuss

    12 min

    Agree at least one thing to drop. Removing a meeting or a step is a valid action.

  6. 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. 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.

Run these steps with a timer that floats over your screen share

Prompts to put on the board.

Read one out when the writing stalls, or paste them next to the columns.

  • What can we drop without anyone missing it?
  • What should we add?
  • What do we keep?
  • What is almost right and needs a small fix?

Your Drop Add Keep Improve 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

  1. 0:00–0:05Check in · 5 min
  2. 0:05–0:13Write silently · 8 min
  3. 0:13–0:23Read out · 10 min
  4. 0:23–0:28Group and dot-vote · 5 min
  5. 0:28–0:40Discuss · 12 min
  6. 0:40–0:50Agree action items · 10 min
  7. 0:50–0:55Close · 5 min
Drop Add Keep Improve retro agenda

Payments team Sprint 14 retro: Drop, Add, Keep, Improve

Length: 55 min

Four columns: what to drop, add, keep and improve. A team that has piled up process. Drop forces the question of what to let go.

Agenda

TimeStepMin
0:00–0:05Check in5
0:05–0:13Write silently8
0:13–0:23Read out10
0:23–0:28Group and dot-vote5
0:28–0:40Discuss12
0:40–0:50Agree action items10
0:50–0:55Close5

How to run each step

  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 (8 min). Everyone fills the four columns.
  3. Read out (10 min). Start with Drop.
  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 (12 min). Agree at least one thing to drop. Removing a meeting or a step is a valid action.
  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.

Board

  • Drop
  • Add
  • Keep
  • Improve

Prompts

  • What can we drop without anyone missing it?
  • What should we add?
  • What do we keep?
  • What is almost right and needs a small fix?

Last retro's action items

ActionOwnerStatus

Action items

ActionOwnerDue

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.

All 27 retrospective games

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.

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Drop Add Keep Improve retrospective questions

What is a Drop Add Keep Improve retrospective?

Four columns: what to drop, add, keep and improve. A team that has piled up process. Drop forces the question of what to let go.

How long does a Drop Add Keep Improve retro take?

30 minutes at the shortest, and about 55 minutes as written here. The agenda builder on this page stretches or squeezes each step to fit your slot.

Can you run Drop Add Keep Improve 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 Drop Add Keep Improve board?

4 areas: Drop, Add, Keep, Improve. For example, from a software team: Drop: “The Monday pre-planning meeting”; Add: “A shared on-call handover doc”; Keep: “Weekly bug triage”; Improve: “Release notes: write them as we go”.

What team size is Drop Add Keep Improve 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 Drop Add Keep Improve?

Start Stop Continue, KALM, Lean Coffee. They suit similar sprints from a different angle. Rotate formats every two to four sprints so the retro doesn't go stale.