Retrospective ideas: 12 free retro templates to print

A retrospective is a meeting where a team looks back on a sprint, a project or a quarter and agrees on what to change next. In Scrum, the sprint retrospective closes every sprint. Outside of Scrum, a retrospective may happen after a product launch, a school term or a large event.

When a team answers the same three questions every two weeks, the answers start to repeat as well. A new format asks different questions, and the team looks at the last weeks from a different angle. Most retro templates online are only made for digital whiteboards. The 12 formats below are also made for the room: you print them on A4, A3 or A2 and fill them with notes at the table or on the wall. In our 2026 reader survey, 45 of 68 facilitators said they run their sessions mostly or entirely in person.

Download all 12 retro templates for free (PDF, available in English and German).

What is a retrospective?

The word comes from Latin: retro means back, and specere means to look. The Scrum Guide describes the sprint retrospective as the last event of a sprint, where the team plans ways to increase quality and effectiveness. It is usually set to a maximum of three hours for a one-month sprint and is usually shorter for shorter sprints.

In their book Agile Retrospectives, Esther Derby and Diana Larsen split a retro into five phases: set the stage, gather data, generate insights, decide what to do, and close the retrospective. Hence, every template in this post has a box at the bottom for the "decide what to do" phase, with space for who does what and by when.

What you need for a retrospective

• A printed template: A4 works for individual reflection, while A3 or A2 for a small group at a table or for the wall. For larger teams, Stattys also prints every template in A1, A0 and B0.
• Electrostatic notes for writing ideas, one idea per note. They stick to the paper without glue, so you can easily move them while the group sorts.
• Small notes as dots for voting.
• Permanent markers or ballpoint pens for writing.
• 45 to 60 minutes for most formats, dependent on group size.

How to run a retrospective, step by step

1. Set the stage (5 minutes): Name the period you are looking back on and the format you will use. A short check-in helps people arrive. The Feelings Tree works well for this, as does a quick round where everyone describes the last sprint in one word.

2. Write in silence (5 to 10 minutes): Everyone writes on their own, one point per note. This gives everyone space to reflect and gather their thoughts.

3. Stick and read aloud (10 minutes): Each person places their notes in the matching field and reads them out briefly. Anyone may ask a question for clarification or further understanding; the discussion comes later.

4. Group and vote (10 minutes): Move similar notes next to each other. Then everyone gets three dots and places them on the topics they want to talk about.

5. Agree on next steps (10 to 15 minutes): Discuss the topics with the most dots and write one to three actions into the box at the bottom, each with a name and a date. Start the next retro by checking these actions.

Which retrospective format fits your team?

The 12 templates fall into four groups. Choose by what the team needs right now: a quick routine, a look back on a longer period, a check on how the team works together, or a lighter round.

Quick classics for a regular sprint retro

Start, Stop, Continue

Three questions: What should we start doing, what should we stop doing, and what should we keep doing? It is the easiest format for a team's first retro, because the questions need no explanation.

Mad, Sad, Glad

The team sorts the last weeks by feeling: what frustrated you, what disappointed you, and what made you happy. Use it when the mood in the team matters as much as the results.

Liked, Lacked, Learned

What did you like, what was missing, and what did you learn? It fits the end of a project phase or a training, when the learning is the main point.

Formats for looking back on a longer period

Timeline

The team places events along a line from start to end, with highs above and lows below. Then it draws a line through the notes and talks about the turning points. This suits a project review or the end of a quarter.

Rate Your Quarter

Seven statements such as "Our priorities were clear" and "I had enough energy", each rated from 1 to 5. Everyone scores on their own first; then the group compares the scores and talks about the biggest gaps. One extra line leaves room for your own topic.

Sailboat

The island is where the team wants to go. The wind pushes it forward, the anchors hold it back, and the rocks are the risks ahead. Based on the Speed Boat game by Luke Hohmann, it works for looking ahead as well as looking back.

Formats for team health

Team Pyramid

Five layers of teamwork, from trust at the base to conflict, commitment, accountability and results at the top. Everyone rates each layer from 1 to 5, and the group talks about the lowest layer first. Inspired by the model in Patrick Lencioni's book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

Motivation Check

Three circles for the basic needs from self-determination theory by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan: autonomy, competence and relatedness. Green notes go to what fed a need, pink notes to what drained it. Then the team rates each need and starts with the lowest one.

Feelings Tree

14 figures in and around a tree. Everyone picks the figure that matches how the last weeks felt and the one they would like to be. Share in pairs first, then in the group; no one has to say more than they want to. Inspired by the Blob Tree by Pip Wilson and Ian Long.

Playful formats for a change of pace

Team Heroes

The team turns into superheroes and looks back on the last mission: superpowers (what are we good at), sidekicks (who or what helped us), weak spots (what drains our powers) and villains (what got in our way). The next steps become the "next mission".

Movie Night

The last weeks as a movie, with a title, a genre and a rating. Four scenes ask for the star of the show, the best scene, the plot twist and the blooper. The next steps are written as "the sequel".

Six Perspectives

The group looks at the last weeks through six hats, one after the other: facts, benefits, risks, feelings, ideas and process. Everyone wears the same hat at the same time, which keeps critics and optimists from talking past each other. Inspired by the hats method of Edward de Bono.

Get all 12 templates for free as one ZIP file with 12 PDFs, ready to print on A4, A3 or A2.

What a retro can look like

A team of six has just finished a four-week project and uses Movie Night for its retro. The group calls the movie "Deadline Express", picks action as the genre and gives it three out of five stars.

In eight minutes, around 25 notes go up. Under "Plot twist", three notes say the same thing: the client changed the scope in week two. Under "Blooper", someone writes about the wrong file that went to the printer, and the group laughs. In the vote, most dots land on the scope change.

For "the sequel", the team agrees on one action: before the next kickoff, the project lead writes down the scope and the client signs it off. The whole retro takes just under an hour.

Retrospectives outside of work

A retro works wherever a group has done something together and wants to do it better next time.

A youth group can use Liked, Lacked, Learned on the last evening of a summer camp. A teacher can open the last lesson of a term with the Feelings Tree. The volunteers of a church or a sports club can run Start, Stop, Continue after their summer festival, so the planning for next year starts with what they learned this year.

Common mistakes

• The same format every time. After a few sprints, the answers repeat. Switch the format every two or three retros.
• Actions without a name. An action that belongs to everyone rarely happens. Each one needs a person and a date.
• Too many actions. Ten actions from one retro will not all get done. Choose one to three.
• Discussion starts before the writing. The first opinion in the room steers everyone else. Write in silence first.
• The last retro is forgotten. If no one checks last time's actions, the team stops taking them seriously.

What if part of the team is remote?

The printed templates are made for the room. If a few people join online (hybrid set-up), they can post their points in the chat and someone in the room writes them onto notes on the template. Sharing the template through video call keeps everyone on the same page. If the whole team is remote (online set-up), the templates can be uploaded to a digital whiteboard.

Materials for your next retro

Stattys Notes S (10 x 7 cm) – Electrostatic Notes for Planning & Sorting

The classic size for retro notes on an A0 print. One point fits comfortably, and the note is still readable when the template hangs on the wall.

Stattys Square (7.2 x 7.2 cm) – Electrostatic Notes for Clustering & Prioritizing

Slightly smaller than S, and like S, it goes best with an A0 print. The square format lines up in clean rows when the group sorts.

Stattys Notes M (20 × 10 cm) – Electrostatic Notes for Bigger Ideas & Plans

Stattys Notes M go best with a B0 print. There, they work well for the headings when the group sorts notes into topics, and for writing the agreed next steps large enough for everyone to read. At 20 × 10 cm, the note stays readable from across the room.

Stattys Notes XS (5 x 3.7 cm) – Electrostatic Notes for Fast & Tiny Thoughts

The right size for an A3 or A2 template, and for dot voting on any template. Because they hold by static, participants can move their vote again if they change their mind.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a team hold a retrospective? In Scrum, at the end of every sprint. Outside of Scrum, one retro at the end of each project or at the end of each quarter is a good rhythm.

How long does a retrospective take? Most formats in this post take 45 to 60 minutes. The Scrum Guide sets a maximum of three hours for a one-month sprint. The time a retro takes still heavily depends on the group size.

Who takes part in a retrospective? The people who did the work. In Scrum, that is the whole Scrum team, including the Product Owner and the Scrum Master.

Which retro format is best for a new team? Start, Stop, Continue. The three questions need no explanation, so the team can get used to the routine before trying more playful formats.

Are the templates really free? Yes. You just need to sign up for the Stattys newsletter on the templates page and download all 12 templates as one ZIP file, in English or German. 

Can I get the templates printed in a large format? Yes. Stattys prints every template in A1, A0 and B0. Send a request through the form on the templates page or write to sales@stattys.com.

Which pens work best? Permanent markers work best. They stay readable from a distance and do not smudge when the notes are moved. You can alternatively use ballpoint pens when working with a small group and the A4 size.