Retro format 18 of 27
Team Radar retrospective
Everyone rates the team from 1 to 5 on a few dimensions, then you talk about the lowest.
- 30–50 min
- 2 to 20 people
- Great remote
Good for
Spotting trends over time. Run it every few sprints with the same dimensions and compare.
Also called: Health check retro
Facilitator tip
Keep the same dimensions for at least three retros. The trend tells you more than any single score.
The Team Radar board, drawn out.
6 areas: Code review speed, Test confidence, Deploy confidence, On-call load, Clear priorities, Safe to speak up. Draw the picture on your whiteboard before the retro. Here's what a software team might put in each.
1Code review speed
3.1, wide spread
2Test confidence
2.4
3Deploy confidence
4.2
4On-call load
3.0
5Clear priorities
2.2, the lowest
6Safe to speak up
4.5
How to run a Team Radar retrospective.
About 50 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 anonymously
5 min
Everyone rates each dimension from 1 (bad) to 5 (great). Use an anonymous poll for honesty.
- 3
Show the radar
5 min
Plot the averages and the spread. Compare with last time if you have it.
- 4
Discuss the lowest and widest
20 min
Talk about the lowest score, then the one with the widest spread: people see it differently.
- 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.
- Why did you give that score?
- What would move it up by one?
- Why do we see this so differently?
Your Team Radar 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
- 0:05–0:10Rate anonymously · 5 min
- 0:10–0:15Show the radar · 5 min
- 0:15–0:35Discuss the lowest and widest · 20 min
- 0:35–0:45Agree action items · 10 min
- 0:45–0:50Close · 5 min
Payments team Sprint 14 retro: Team radar
Length: 50 min
Everyone rates the team from 1 to 5 on a few dimensions, then you talk about the lowest. Spotting trends over time. Run it every few sprints with the same dimensions and compare.
Agenda
| Time | Step | Min |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–0:05 | Check in | 5 |
| 0:05–0:10 | Rate anonymously | 5 |
| 0:10–0:15 | Show the radar | 5 |
| 0:15–0:35 | Discuss the lowest and widest | 20 |
| 0:35–0:45 | Agree action items | 10 |
| 0:45–0:50 | 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 anonymously (5 min). Everyone rates each dimension from 1 (bad) to 5 (great). Use an anonymous poll for honesty.
- Show the radar (5 min). Plot the averages and the spread. Compare with last time if you have it.
- Discuss the lowest and widest (20 min). Talk about the lowest score, then the one with the widest spread: people see it differently.
- 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
- Code review speed
- Test confidence
- Deploy confidence
- On-call load
- Clear priorities
- Safe to speak up
Prompts
- Why did you give that score?
- What would move it up by one?
- Why do we see this so differently?
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
- 12
Rose Thorn Bud
- 30–55 min
- 2 to 20
- Great remote
- 20
What Went Well
- 30–55 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.
Team Radar retrospective questions
What is a Team Radar retrospective?
Everyone rates the team from 1 to 5 on a few dimensions, then you talk about the lowest. Spotting trends over time. Run it every few sprints with the same dimensions and compare.
How long does a Team Radar retro take?
30 minutes at the shortest, and about 50 minutes as written here. The agenda builder on this page stretches or squeezes each step to fit your slot.
Can you run Team Radar 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 Team Radar board?
6 areas: Code review speed, Test confidence, Deploy confidence, On-call load, Clear priorities, Safe to speak up. For example, from a software team: Code review speed: “3.1, wide spread”; Test confidence: “2.4”; Deploy confidence: “4.2”; On-call load: “3.0”; Clear priorities: “2.2, the lowest”; Safe to speak up: “4.5”.
What team size is Team Radar 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 Team Radar?
Start Stop Continue, Rose Thorn Bud, What Went Well. They suit similar sprints from a different angle. Rotate formats every two to four sprints so the retro doesn't go stale.