Agile Delivery · tool 3 of 6
Retrospective & Lessons Learned
Retrospective & Lessons Learned: turns experience into continuous improvement instead of repeating the same mistakes.
Best for: End of each sprint or phase · Time: 45–60 minutes
Domain: Schedule · Focus area: Monitoring and Controlling
Start
Demo every Friday
Pair on reviews
Stop
Meetings without agenda
Last-minute scope changes
Continue
Daily stand-up at 9:15
Shared risk log
How it works
A short, blame-free team meeting at the end of a sprint, phase or project. A popular format is Start / Stop / Continue: what should we start doing, stop doing, and keep doing?
- Safe, no-blame environment.
- Few actions, each with an owner.
- At project close, the retros feed a Lessons Learned register for future projects.
How to apply it
- Timebox 45–60 minutes and remind everyone of the no-blame rule.
- Silent writing: everyone adds notes to Start, Stop and Continue (10 min).
- Group similar notes and dot-vote.
- Choose two or three actions at most, each with an owner and a date.
- Open the next retro by checking those actions.
Pro tip
Change the format every few sessions (Sailboat, 4Ls, Mad/Sad/Glad) to keep the conversation fresh.
Quick check
How many actions should a retrospective end with?
Sources
- K. Schwaber and J. Sutherland, The Scrum Guide (2020)
Last reviewed 2026-11-02 against the PMBOK® Guide, 8th edition · Practitioner review pending · How this guide is made