Retro format 26 of 27
Perfection Game retrospective
Everyone rates the sprint out of 10, then says what would make it a 10.
- 30–45 min
- 2 to 10 people
- Great remote
Good for
A sprint that was fine but not great. It turns vague dissatisfaction into specific improvements.
Facilitator tip
Only improvements in the share. Nobody defends or questions a score.
The Perfection Game board, drawn out.
No columns for this one. Here's what it looks like with a software team.
- 17/10. Liked the calm release. A 10: no scope change after day 3
- 26/10. Liked pairing. A 10: a staging that works
- 38/10. Liked the demo. A 10: design in the kickoff
How to run a Perfection Game retrospective.
About 45 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
Rate and improve
7 min
Everyone writes a score from 1 to 10, what they liked, and what would make it a 10.
- 3
Share
12 min
Go around. Only improvements, no criticism of the score.
- 4
Pick improvements
6 min
Cluster the 'make it a 10' notes and vote.
- 5
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.
- 6
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 score would you give this sprint?
- What did you like about it?
- What would make it a 10?
Your Perfection Game 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
- 0:05–0:12Rate and improve · 7 min
- 0:12–0:24Share · 12 min
- 0:24–0:30Pick improvements · 6 min
- 0:30–0:40Agree action items · 10 min
- 0:40–0:45Close · 5 min
Payments team Sprint 14 retro: Perfection Game
Length: 45 min
Everyone rates the sprint out of 10, then says what would make it a 10. A sprint that was fine but not great. It turns vague dissatisfaction into specific improvements.
Agenda
| Time | Step | Min |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:05 | Check in | 5 |
| 0:05–0:12 | Rate and improve | 7 |
| 0:12–0:24 | Share | 12 |
| 0:24–0:30 | Pick improvements | 6 |
| 0:30–0:40 | Agree action items | 10 |
| 0:40–0:45 | 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.
- Rate and improve (7 min). Everyone writes a score from 1 to 10, what they liked, and what would make it a 10.
- Share (12 min). Go around. Only improvements, no criticism of the score.
- Pick improvements (6 min). Cluster the 'make it a 10' notes and vote.
- 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.
Prompts
- What score would you give this sprint?
- What did you like about it?
- What would make it a 10?
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.
- 07
Lean Coffee
- 30–55 min
- 2 to 10
- Great remote
- 10
Speedboat
- 30–50 min
- 2 to 20
- Great remote
- 04
Sailboat
- 45–60 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.
Perfection Game retrospective questions
What is a Perfection Game retrospective?
Everyone rates the sprint out of 10, then says what would make it a 10. A sprint that was fine but not great. It turns vague dissatisfaction into specific improvements.
How long does a Perfection Game retro take?
30 minutes at the shortest, and about 45 minutes as written here. The agenda builder on this page stretches or squeezes each step to fit your slot.
Can you run Perfection Game 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 Perfection Game 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 Perfection Game?
Lean Coffee, Speedboat, Sailboat. They suit similar sprints from a different angle. Rotate formats every two to four sprints so the retro doesn't go stale.