Retro format 16 of 27
Futurespective retrospective
Imagine it is three months from now and the project failed. Write down why, then prevent it.
- 45–60 min
- 2 to 20 people
- Great remote
Good for
The start of a project, a migration or a quarter. It makes it safe to name risks nobody wants to own.
Also called: Pre-mortem
Facilitator tip
Write the failure story in the past tense. “The migration slipped” feels real; “it might slip” gets ignored.
The Futurespective board, drawn out.
3 areas: Why it failed, Why it went great, What we do now. Draw the columns on your whiteboard before the retro. Here's what a software team might put in each.
1Why it failed
The cutover hit the holiday code freeze
2Why it went great
We cut scope in week 2 and said so early
3What we do now
Book the cutover date with ops this week
How to run a Futurespective retrospective.
About 60 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
Set the scene
3 min
Say the date three months from now. The project failed badly. (Or: it went better than anyone hoped.)
- 3
Write the story
8 min
Everyone writes reasons it failed, as if they already happened.
- 4
Read out
10 min
Read and cluster the reasons.
- 5
Group and dot-vote
5 min
Cluster notes that say the same thing and name each cluster. Everyone gets three votes. Sort by votes.
- 6
Plan the prevention
14 min
For each top reason: what can we do now to stop it, and how will we notice early?
- 7
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.
- 8
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.
- It's three months from now and we missed the launch. What happened?
- Which dependency let us down?
- Who was out at the worst moment?
- What did we know today and ignore?
Your Futurespective 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
- 0:05–0:08Set the scene · 3 min
- 0:08–0:16Write the story · 8 min
- 0:16–0:26Read out · 10 min
- 0:26–0:31Group and dot-vote · 5 min
- 0:31–0:45Plan the prevention · 14 min
- 0:45–0:55Agree action items · 10 min
- 0:55–1:00Close · 5 min
Payments team Sprint 14 retro: Futurespective (pre-mortem)
Length: 60 min
Imagine it is three months from now and the project failed. Write down why, then prevent it. The start of a project, a migration or a quarter. It makes it safe to name risks nobody wants to own.
Agenda
| Time | Step | Min |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:05 | Check in | 5 |
| 0:05–0:08 | Set the scene | 3 |
| 0:08–0:16 | Write the story | 8 |
| 0:16–0:26 | Read out | 10 |
| 0:26–0:31 | Group and dot-vote | 5 |
| 0:31–0:45 | Plan the prevention | 14 |
| 0:45–0:55 | Agree action items | 10 |
| 0:55–1:00 | 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.
- Set the scene (3 min). Say the date three months from now. The project failed badly. (Or: it went better than anyone hoped.)
- Write the story (8 min). Everyone writes reasons it failed, as if they already happened.
- Read out (10 min). Read and cluster the reasons.
- Group and dot-vote (5 min). Cluster notes that say the same thing and name each cluster. Everyone gets three votes. Sort by votes.
- Plan the prevention (14 min). For each top reason: what can we do now to stop it, and how will we notice early?
- 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
- Why it failed
- Why it went great
- What we do now
Prompts
- It's three months from now and we missed the launch. What happened?
- Which dependency let us down?
- Who was out at the worst moment?
- What did we know today and ignore?
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
- 11
Three Little Pigs
- 45–57 min
- 2 to 20
- Great remote
- 18
Team Radar
- 30–50 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.
Futurespective retrospective questions
What is a Futurespective retrospective?
Imagine it is three months from now and the project failed. Write down why, then prevent it. The start of a project, a migration or a quarter. It makes it safe to name risks nobody wants to own.
How long does a Futurespective retro take?
45 minutes at the shortest, and about 60 minutes as written here. The agenda builder on this page stretches or squeezes each step to fit your slot.
Can you run Futurespective 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 Futurespective board?
3 areas: Why it failed, Why it went great, What we do now. For example, from a software team: Why it failed: “The cutover hit the holiday code freeze”; Why it went great: “We cut scope in week 2 and said so early”; What we do now: “Book the cutover date with ops this week”.
What team size is Futurespective 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 Futurespective?
Sailboat, Three Little Pigs, Team Radar. They suit similar sprints from a different angle. Rotate formats every two to four sprints so the retro doesn't go stale.