Retro format 13 of 27
One Word retrospective
Each person sums up the sprint in one word, then says why.
- 15–28 min
- 2 to 20 people
- Great remote
Good for
A 15 minute retro, a check-in at the start of a longer one, or a tired team that needs a quick pulse.
Facilitator tip
Everyone writes at the same time, then reveals. Going round in order makes people copy the first word.
The One Word board, drawn out.
No columns for this one. Here's what it looks like with a software team.
- Firefighting
- Shipped
- Blocked
- Calmer
- Scrappy
How to run a One Word retrospective.
About 28 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
One word each
2 min
Everyone writes one word for the sprint at the same time, so nobody copies.
- 3
Say why
10 min
Go around. Each person explains their word in a sentence or two.
- 4
Spot the theme
5 min
What do the words have in common? Pick one thing to change.
- 5
Agree action items
5 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.
- 6
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.
- One word for this sprint?
- One word for how you hope the next sprint feels?
Your One Word 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
- 0:03–0:05One word each · 2 min
- 0:05–0:15Say why · 10 min
- 0:15–0:20Spot the theme · 5 min
- 0:20–0:25Agree action items · 5 min
- 0:25–0:28Close · 3 min
Payments team Sprint 14 retro: One Word
Length: 28 min
Each person sums up the sprint in one word, then says why. A 15 minute retro, a check-in at the start of a longer one, or a tired team that needs a quick pulse.
Agenda
| Time | Step | Min |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:03 | Check in | 3 |
| 0:03–0:05 | One word each | 2 |
| 0:05–0:15 | Say why | 10 |
| 0:15–0:20 | Spot the theme | 5 |
| 0:20–0:25 | Agree action items | 5 |
| 0:25–0:28 | 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.
- One word each (2 min). Everyone writes one word for the sprint at the same time, so nobody copies.
- Say why (10 min). Go around. Each person explains their word in a sentence or two.
- Spot the theme (5 min). What do the words have in common? Pick one thing to change.
- Agree action items (5 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 (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
- One word for this sprint?
- One word for how you hope the next sprint feels?
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.
- 17
Appreciation
- 15–25 min
- 2 to 10
- Great remote
- 07
Lean Coffee
- 30–55 min
- 2 to 10
- Great remote
- 10
Speedboat
- 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.
One Word retrospective questions
What is a One Word retrospective?
Each person sums up the sprint in one word, then says why. A 15 minute retro, a check-in at the start of a longer one, or a tired team that needs a quick pulse.
How long does a One Word retro take?
15 minutes at the shortest, and about 28 minutes as written here. The agenda builder on this page stretches or squeezes each step to fit your slot.
Can you run One Word 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 One Word 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 One Word?
Appreciation, Lean Coffee, Speedboat. They suit similar sprints from a different angle. Rotate formats every two to four sprints so the retro doesn't go stale.