Retro format 14 of 27
Plus Delta retrospective
Two columns: what worked (+) and what to change (Δ).
- 15–33 min
- 2 to 20 people
- Great remote
Good for
The shortest useful retro. Also good at the end of any meeting, a release or a workshop.
Also called: Plus delta retrospective
Facilitator tip
Phrase deltas as the change you want. “Smaller PRs” is an action; “PRs too big” is a complaint.
The Plus Delta board, drawn out.
2 areas: Plus (+), Delta (Δ). Draw the columns on your whiteboard before the retro. Here's what a software team might put in each.
1Plus (+)
Kickoff with design saved a week of rework
2Delta (Δ)
Keep PRs under 300 lines
How to run a Plus Delta retrospective.
About 33 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 silently
5 min
Everyone writes pluses and deltas. Deltas are changes, not complaints: 'smaller PRs', not 'PRs too big'.
- 3
Read out and vote
8 min
Read, cluster, two votes each.
- 4
Discuss top deltas
9 min
Take the top two deltas and agree a first step.
- 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.
- What worked that we should repeat?
- What would you change, phrased as the change?
Your Plus Delta 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
- 0:03–0:08Write silently · 5 min
- 0:08–0:16Read out and vote · 8 min
- 0:16–0:25Discuss top deltas · 9 min
- 0:25–0:30Agree action items · 5 min
- 0:30–0:33Close · 3 min
Payments team Sprint 14 retro: Plus / Delta
Length: 33 min
Two columns: what worked (+) and what to change (Δ). The shortest useful retro. Also good at the end of any meeting, a release or a workshop.
Agenda
| Time | Step | Min |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:03 | Check in | 3 |
| 0:03–0:08 | Write silently | 5 |
| 0:08–0:16 | Read out and vote | 8 |
| 0:16–0:25 | Discuss top deltas | 9 |
| 0:25–0:30 | Agree action items | 5 |
| 0:30–0:33 | 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 silently (5 min). Everyone writes pluses and deltas. Deltas are changes, not complaints: 'smaller PRs', not 'PRs too big'.
- Read out and vote (8 min). Read, cluster, two votes each.
- Discuss top deltas (9 min). Take the top two deltas and agree a first step.
- 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.
Board
- Plus (+)
- Delta (Δ)
Prompts
- What worked that we should repeat?
- What would you change, phrased as the change?
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.
- 01
Start Stop Continue
- 30–60 min
- 2 to 20
- Great remote
- 06
KALM
- 30–55 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.
Plus Delta retrospective questions
What is a Plus Delta retrospective?
Two columns: what worked (+) and what to change (Δ). The shortest useful retro. Also good at the end of any meeting, a release or a workshop.
How long does a Plus Delta retro take?
15 minutes at the shortest, and about 33 minutes as written here. The agenda builder on this page stretches or squeezes each step to fit your slot.
Can you run Plus Delta 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 Plus Delta board?
2 areas: Plus (+), Delta (Δ). For example, from a software team: Plus (+): “Kickoff with design saved a week of rework”; Delta (Δ): “Keep PRs under 300 lines”.
What team size is Plus Delta 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 Plus Delta?
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.