Sprint Retrospective Template (Start / Stop / Continue)
A Start / Stop / Continue sprint retrospective worksheet with an action-items section (owner + due date) and team/date header.
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SPRINT RETROSPECTIVE Team: Platform Squad Sprint 24 Date: May 23, 2026 Facilitator: Scrum Master Attendees: 7 of 8 (one PTO) How to use: as a team, fill the three columns, group similar notes, then agree on a few concrete action items with owners. Keep it blameless — focus on the system, not individuals. ================ START ================ (things we should begin doing) - Writing a short test plan before starting big tickets - Demoing work-in-progress mid-sprint, not just at review - Pairing on the gnarliest ticket each sprint ================ STOP ================= (things that are not working — let's stop) - Pulling new scope into the sprint after day 2 - Reviewing PRs in giant batches at end of day - Silent standups that skip blockers ============== CONTINUE =============== (things working well — let's keep doing) - The new definition-of-done checklist - Friday 30-minute focus block (no meetings) - Rotating the on-call summary ============ ACTION ITEMS ============= (turn the discussion into a few owned commitments) [ ] Add a "test plan" field to the ticket template (owner: Priya, due: next sprint) [ ] Set a WIP limit of 3 on the board (owner: Sam, due: this week) [ ] Move PR review to twice-daily windows (owner: Team, due: immediately) Next retro: review these action items first. An action item without an owner and a due date rarely gets done.
About this template
The sprint retrospective is the agile ceremony where a team improves how it works — and Start / Stop / Continue is the most popular format because it is fast, positive, and immediately actionable. The three prompts map to the only three things a team can actually change: begin a new practice (Start), drop one that is not working (Stop), or keep one that is (Continue). The format's real power is that it ends in **action items**, which is where most retros fail: a great discussion that produces no owned commitments changes nothing by the next sprint. Three rules make retrospectives work. First, **psychological safety** — Norm Kerth's Prime Directive ("everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time") sets a blameless tone; people surface real problems only when it is safe to do so. Second, **converge to a few actions, not many** — pick one to three improvements with a named owner and a due date; a list of ten vague intentions is noise. Third, **close the loop** — start the next retro by reviewing the prior action items, which both holds the team accountable and proves the ceremony is worth the time. Keep retros timeboxed (30–60 minutes for a two-week sprint), rotate the facilitator occasionally to vary perspective, and vary the format every few sprints (Start/Stop/Continue, Mad/Sad/Glad, 4Ls, sailboat) so it does not become rote. The output of this template — three columns plus owned action items — is exactly what a healthy retro produces, whether you run it on a whiteboard, sticky notes, or this printable sheet.
When to use it
- Running an end-of-sprint or end-of-iteration agile retrospective.
- Any recurring team improvement check-in (not just software teams).
- A blameless post-project or post-incident review.
- Capturing retro outcomes as a shareable, printable record.
What to include
- Team, sprint/iteration, date, and facilitator.
- START: practices the team should begin.
- STOP: things that are not working.
- CONTINUE: things working well to keep.
- A few ACTION ITEMS, each with an owner and due date.