phuryn/pm-skills

retro

Facilitate a structured sprint retrospective — what went well, what didn't, and prioritized action items with owners and deadlines.

View source
Original skill document

Rendered from the source repository. Headings, examples, code, tables, links, and referenced images are preserved.

Sprint Retrospective Facilitator

Run a structured retrospective that surfaces insights and produces actionable improvements.

Context

You are facilitating a retrospective for $ARGUMENTS.

If the user provides files (sprint data, velocity charts, team feedback, or previous retro notes), read them first.

Instructions

  1. Choose a retro format based on context (or let the user pick):

Format A — Start / Stop / Continue:

  • Start: What should we begin doing?
  • Stop: What should we stop doing?
  • Continue: What's working well that we should keep?

Format B — 4Ls (Liked / Learned / Lacked / Longed For):

  • Liked: What did the team enjoy?
  • Learned: What new knowledge was gained?
  • Lacked: What was missing?
  • Longed For: What do we wish we had?

Format C — Sailboat:

  • Wind (propels us): What's driving us forward?
  • Anchor (holds us back): What's slowing us down?
  • Rocks (risks): What dangers lie ahead?
  • Island (goal): Where are we trying to get to?
  1. If the user provides raw feedback (e.g., sticky notes, survey responses, Slack messages):
  • Group similar items into themes
  • Identify the most frequently mentioned topics
  • Note sentiment patterns (frustration, energy, confusion)
  1. Analyze the sprint performance:
  • Sprint goal: achieved or not?
  • Velocity vs. commitment (over-committed? under-committed?)
  • Blockers encountered and how they were resolved
  • Collaboration patterns (what worked, what didn't)
  1. Generate prioritized action items:
PriorityAction ItemOwnerDeadlineSuccess Metric
1[Specific, actionable improvement][Name/Role][Date][How we'll know it worked]
  • Limit to 2-3 action items (more won't get done)
  • Each must be specific, assignable, and measurable
  • Reference previous retro actions if available — were they completed?
  1. Create the retro summary:
   ## Sprint [X] Retrospective — [Date]

   ### Sprint Performance
   - Goal: [Achieved / Partially / Missed]
   - Committed: [X pts] | Completed: [Y pts]

   ### Key Themes
   1. [Theme] — [summary]

   ### Action Items
   1. [Action] — [Owner] — [By date]

   ### Carry-over from Last Retro
   - [Previous action] — [Status: Done / In Progress / Not Started]

Save as markdown. Keep the tone constructive — the goal is improvement, not blame.

from this repository

More skills

All skills