Sprint retrospective template for engineering teams
Running a sprint retrospective that actually leads to change is less about icebreakers and more about honest, specific reflection and follow‑through.
Why this template works for dev teams
Keeps it blameless
Focus on systems, not individuals, so developers feel safe being honest about what went wrong.
Forces follow-through
Every improvement has an owner and deadline, so retro notes actually ship instead of being forgotten.
Works in any tool
Use in HighFly, GitHub, Notion, or a shared doc—same structure, same results.
How to run this sprint retrospective (30 minutes)
Set the stage
Remind everyone this is a blameless retro focused on improving the system and process, not blaming individuals.
Silent brainstorming
Each person adds items under Start / Stop / Continue without discussion; anonymity (e.g. shared board, form) encourages more honest input.
Group and clarify
Read items aloud, merge duplicates, and rewrite anything vague into concrete statements the team understands.
Vote on what matters
Give each person 3 votes and dot‑vote on the items that would have the biggest impact next sprint.
Assign owners and deadlines
Turn the top 3–5 items into action items with a single owner and a realistic due date in the next sprint.
Common mistakes to avoid
Taking on too much
A retro that produces 10+ "improvements" usually delivers none; commit to fewer changes you will actually do.
Why it matters: Focus beats volume every time.
No clear ownership
"We should improve CI" rarely happens; "Alex owns adding a pre‑merge test check this sprint" has a chance.
Why it matters: Accountability drives execution.
Blame‑focused language
Phrases like "a deploy broke prod" are more productive than "Alice broke prod" and keep the conversation safe.
Why it matters: Psychological safety enables honesty.
Only talking about problems
If you skip wins and "what should we continue," the meeting becomes draining and teams disengage.
Why it matters: Balance keeps morale high.
Sprint retrospective template
Copy this template and paste it into HighFly, GitHub, Notion, or your preferred tool.
# Sprint Retrospective — Team: [Team Name]
**Sprint:** [Sprint Name / #]
**Dates:** [Start Date] → [End Date]
**Retro Date:** [Retro Date]
**Facilitator:** [Name]
**Attendees:** [Names]
---
## 1. Sprint snapshot
- **Goal for this sprint:**
- [e.g. Ship the new billing page and reduce failed payments by 20%]
- **What actually happened:**
- [e.g. Billing page shipped 3 days late, failed payments down 10%]
- **Key metrics:**
- Velocity: [X] story points completed / [Y] planned
- Incidents: [#] production incidents
- Deploys: [#] deploys to production
---
## 2. START — What should we start doing?
New habits, rituals, or processes to introduce next sprint.
- [ ] Start ___________________________________________ (Owner: ________)
- [ ] Start ___________________________________________ (Owner: ________)
- [ ] Start ___________________________________________ (Owner: ________)
**Examples:**
- Start writing a quick test plan for any ticket touching payments
- Start pairing on complex migrations instead of doing them solo
- Start doing async standups in a shared channel instead of a daily call
---
## 3. STOP — What should we stop doing?
Things that slow the team down, create confusion, or aren't worth the cost.
- [ ] Stop ___________________________________________ (Owner: ________)
- [ ] Stop ___________________________________________ (Owner: ________)
- [ ] Stop ___________________________________________ (Owner: ________)
**Examples:**
- Stop merging PRs without review "just to unblock things"
- Stop deploying large changes on Fridays
- Stop starting new work when there are more than N items in "In Progress"
---
## 4. CONTINUE — What is working well?
Good practices you don't want to lose as the team changes.
- [ ] Continue ________________________________________ (Owner: ________)
- [ ] Continue ________________________________________ (Owner: ________)
- [ ] Continue ________________________________________ (Owner: ________)
**Examples:**
- Continue weekly 15‑minute infra sync to unblock deployments
- Continue grouping related tickets into small batches for faster review
- Continue keeping a visible tech‑debt list the team can pull from
---
## 5. Highlights & lowlights
### Highlights (wins this sprint)
- [Win #1]
- [Win #2]
- [Win #3]
### Lowlights (pain points this sprint)
- [Pain point #1]
- [Pain point #2]
- [Pain point #3]
---
## 6. Action items
Turn the most important Start/Stop items into concrete, trackable work.
| Action item | Category | Owner | Due date | Status |
|----------------------------------------------|-----------|---------|-----------|--------------|
| [Describe the change to make] | Start/Stop/Continue | [Name] | [YYYY-MM-DD] | ☐ Not started |
| [Describe the change to make] | Start/Stop/Continue | [Name] | [YYYY-MM-DD] | ☐ Not started |
| [Describe the change to make] | Start/Stop/Continue | [Name] | [YYYY-MM-DD] | ☐ Not started |
> Tip: At the start of each retro, quickly review last sprint's action items and close or re‑assign anything still open.
---
## 7. Follow‑up next sprint
At the next retro, review:
- Did we complete last sprint's action items?
- Did the changes improve speed, quality, or team experience?
- Do we need to adjust how we run retros?Want retros that actually turn into shipped improvements?
Use this template inside HighFly to link retro action items directly to upcoming sprint work—so improvements don't get lost between docs and issue trackers.
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