Self-Introduction

Hello. This is Koyama (@_koyasoo) from KINTO Technologies. Since the beginning of this year, I've been dedicated to promoting Agile practices and working full-time as a Scrum Master, supporting my team in growing stronger every day. Today, I’d like to share some of the things we’ve been working on.

Speaking of retrospectives...

Do you hold them regularly?

When it comes to retrospectives, the KPT (Keep/Problem/Try) format often comes to mind. It’s practically synonymous with the practice. KPTs are widely used in many workplaces, but is it actually effective?

Back in June, I attended Scrum Fest Osaka, and out of all the sessions I joined, one left a particularly strong impression on me.

OODA!!!!!! (If you know, you know)

Yep, it’s Ikuo (@dora_e_m) san. Ikuo san’s session on retrospectives really left an impression on me. Until then, I had only used KPT for retrospectives, so when I heard the words, "To keep retrospectives meaningful, we need to avoid falling into a rut," they really hit home. That made me think, "I do retrospectives all the time, I should be able to apply this right away." Or so I thought.

As mentioned on page 22 of the session deck, it was eye-opening to see how simply switching from KPT to YWT (which is quite similar) led to a flood of opinions. It’s amazing how just shifting your perspective can bring out so many ideas...

Quoted from page 22 of Ikuo san’s document

So in this article, I’ll be sharing five retrospective techniques that I’ve actually tried out since then.

Summary of How to Choose the Right Retrospective Method

As Ikuo san mentioned in his session, switching up between different methods to fit the situation can really help a team grow and improve. Below is a summary of each method’s key features; feel free to use it as a reference.

	When to Use It!	Things to Keep in Mind
KPT	A versatile method that works anytime.	Just be careful not to rely on it too much.
Hot Air Balloon	Great for thinking about your team’s future.	Puts more focus on current challenges rather than reflecting on the past.
LeanCoffee	Great for discussing various topics, not just retrospectives.	Can be a bit tiring since discussions are held under time pressure.
Celebration Grid	Ideal for fact-based discussions.	Hard to generate opinions when there’s little actual implementation and more personal impressions.
FunDoneLearn	When you want to reflect on the positives.	Negatives often get overlooked.
Elephants, dead fish, and vomit	When the team seems to be building up frustration.	Facilitating to keep the team from falling apart.

Next, let’s dive into each retrospective method in detail.

Let’s explore retrospectives!

I hope this article encourages you (especially if you’ve only used KPT so far) to take the first step in trying a different approach! With that in mind, I’ll walk you through how to put it into practice with as much detail as possible. Feel free to use whatever works best for you. Just give it a try, you might be surprised. It’s actually not that different from KPTs!

By the way, the examples in this article mainly use the online whiteboard tool Miro.

1. Hot Air Balloon

This reflection method involves replacing the "hot air balloon" in the center with your own product and thinking about what kind of "baggage" it carried, what "updrafts" helped it rise, and what "clouds" might become obstacles in the future.

All you need is an image of a hot air balloon and three types of sticky notes to differentiate the categories. Here’s the hot air balloon our team came up with.

Diagram of a hot air balloon

Here’s how it goes:

1. First, we spent 5 minutes writing about "updrafts", followed by an 8-minute discussion.
2. Next, we did the same with "luggage"—writing for 5 minutes, then followed by an 8-minute discussion.
3. Then, we repeated the process with "clouds"—5 minutes of writing, followed by an 8-minute discussion.
4. Finally, we wrapped up with a 10-minute discussion on the question: "What’s important for making a hot air balloon fly higher?" The discussion took place from this perspective (10 minutes).

This method naturally encourages discussions that reflect on the present and envision the future. Compared to KPT, it breaks down problems into current issues and anticipated challenges, making discussions more focused and effective.

2. LeanCoffee

Lean Coffee is a method that starts with gathering topics, then breaks them into short time-boxed discussions to carry out various conversations about them.

You can make this work by setting up an area where people can add and edit sticky notes for topics and another area to process selected notes one by one for discussion. Miro had a template for this, so I gave it a try.

LeanCoffee Diagram

Here’s how it works.

1. First, participants will come up with a topic (8 minutes). Giving them a suggested theme can help spark ideas and make it easier to share opinions.
2. Use features like polling to find out which topics interest the group the most.
3. Discussions will follow the cycle below, starting with the topic that gets the most votes.
   • Each discussion begins with 5 minutes, including time to introduce the topic.
   • After 5 minutes, the conversation will pause. At that point, ask participants if they’d like to continue discussing the topic. You can use a poll to decide.
   • If they want to continue, add 3 more minutes. If not, move on to the next topic.
   • After those 3 minutes, pause again and check if they’d like to keep going.
   • If they want to continue, add 1 more minute. If not, move on to the next topic.
   • Once the final minute is up, that topic wraps up. If they want to keep the conversation going, set aside extra time for it and wrap up the discussion within that time.

It also gives your insight into the current interests and trends among team members. You can also see trends in the interests of your team members at any given time. Plus, it might help reinforce awareness of timeboxing among the team.

Facilitating discussions can make it tricky to step in and stop them, so try using a timer or pausing at natural breaks in the conversation. Be mindful that this method relies on sticking to the timebox—if not, it could fall apart.

3. Celebration Grid

This method involves discussing completed actions by dividing them into six quadrants based on two axes: one for "success" and "failure", and another for "wrong ways", "experimental ways", and "known ways". As the name suggests, the focus is on keeping a positive mindset—celebrating every outcome, whether it’s a success or a failure.

It seems that people often use the diagrams from this site as a guide.

CelebrationGrid template

As shown in the diagram, each area varies in size based on the likelihood of an event occurring, and they carry the following meanings: The discussion followed these categories.

	Wrong way	Experimental way	Known Way
Success	Lucky!	It was a great experience!	You did the right thing!
Failure	It was inevitable.	It’s ok, there was a lesson in it.	Unlucky

Celebration Grid in action

Here’s how it works.

1. Ask participants to specify a time period and list "what they have done" (5 minutes). Guide them to consider where each item belongs as they list them.
2. Take a deeper dive into each one.
3. Wrap up by celebrating the many insights gained.

At first glance, this method may seem complicated, but it's actually quite simple. Since discussions are based on actual “events and facts", participants can stay grounded and discuss things without personal biases. However, because participants must first list "facts", some may find it harder to express their opinions. To make the process smoother, it’s best to include people who have been actively involved in the work.

4. FunDoneLearn

As the name suggests, this method involves listing Fun (what was enjoyable), Done (what was accomplished), and Learn (what was learned.) Write down the elements that fit into each category where the circles overlap.

You can use a template like a Venn diagram with overlapping circles to make organizing easier. Making the overlapping areas larger will give more space for sticky notes and make them easier to place.

FunDoneLearn Diagram

It’s not something that needs a detailed explanation, but here’s how to do it:

1. Set a time limit and have participants put sticky notes (5 minutes).
2. Discuss with each one.

This method keeps the focus positive, incorporating an element of Fun. This approach helps create a generally positive and happy atmosphere for the review. On the other hand, since it focuses less on negative aspects like Problem, it may not be the best fit if there are many issues to address.

5. Elephants, dead fish and vomit

This method helps identify issues from three different angles. Members are encouraged to openly discuss things they might normally hesitate to say, categorized as follows:

• Elephants – Issues that everyone is aware of.
• Dead Fish – Issues that could cause trouble if left unaddressed.
• Vomit – Issues that are on one's mind.

You can facilitate this exercise using a simple diagram with an elephant, a fish, and vomit. However, to prevent personal conflicts among members, it’s a good idea to clearly outline the ground rules in a visible way.

Drawing of an elephant, dead fish, and vomit

Here’s how it works.

1. First, start by explaining the rules. Make it clear that the goal of this method is not to create conflict within the team, but to come up with ways to address existing issues. This is a key point to keep in mind when using this method.
2. Ask participants to write thoughts with opinions on sticky notes that fit each category (8 minutes). In my team, to keep the discussion from becoming too negative, we encouraged participants to add a pink sticky note if they wanted to reframe an issue into a positive perspective.
3. With this method, seeing other’s notes while brainstorming might sometimes cause discomfort. To prevent this, we make sure that sticky notes in progress are not visible to others. If you are using Miro, enabling Private Mode is a good idea.
4. Once ready, disable Private Mode and start discussing each topic.

Since this method involves addressing negative aspects, it requires a bit more sensitivity compared to other approaches. That said, the atmosphere doesn’t tend to feel too negative. Comments like "Oh, so that’s what you were worried about!" or "I was thinking the same thing!" are likely to come up. This method is highly effective in aligning the team’s approach to problem-solving.

What Applies to Any Retrospective

Having conducted six retrospectives, including KPT, I’ve noticed that there are more commonalities than you might expect.

• The ultimate goal is always to "agree on the next action as a team".
• Writing the rules in large letters helps prevent confusion.
• It’s totally fine to share opinions during the session! Time guidelines: 5 minutes for basic topics, 8–10 minutes for deeper discussions.
• Discussion flow: First, explain the sticky notes, then either "share your own thoughts" or "randomly ask someone who might have an opinion". (Keeping it casual makes it easier for everyone to speak up. Haha!)
• If you’re also sharing your own thoughts, preparing your sticky notes in advance helps you stay focused on facilitating.

Most importantly, as long as everyone is aligned on "agreeing on the next action", any method will work. Once that’s decided, the retrospective will be worthwhile. You can almost forget about everything else.

Feedback from Participants

I always feel a bit anxious after implementing a new retrospective method with new members. Would KPT have been just fine...? Did I give too many instructions, leaving little time for actual reflection...?

If you ever feel this way (like I do), don’t hesitate to ask your team for feedback! You’ll probably hear nothing but positive responses.

• It was refreshing to do a different kind of retrospective. It was fun. (Hot Air Balloon)
• We were able to talk while being conscious of the time box, so we were able to talk about a variety of topics, which is good as we usually end up talking about the same thing. The issues became clear. (LeanCoffee)
• We made a lot of mistakes, but this helped us distinguish between good mistakes and bad ones. (Celebration Grid)
• It was great to understand what makes my team members enjoy their work. I liked that we could simply share fun experiences. (FunDoneLearn)
• I’m glad that the issues I had in mind became a shared understanding within the team. I appreciate how direct and open the discussion was. (Elephants, dead fish, vomit)

Summary

Rather than sticking to just one method, teams can grow stronger by choosing and applying the retrospective format that best fits the situation. I’ve only tried six so far, but I'm excited to explore even more!

As mentioned at the beginning, if you’ve only used KPT, I highly encourage you to try others too. Start by following the steps outlined in this article. Once you’re comfortable, why not tweak and adapt approaches to better fit your team?

I’d be happy if this article helps Scrum Masters who are looking for better ways to run retrospectives.