🐾 Cat-Tastic Retrospective
Welcome to the Cat-Tastic Retro! Like curious felines, let's explore what we should pounce on, paws to stop, and keep purring along with. Ready to sharpen our claws on agile improvements?
Template Columns
🧶 Chase New Yarn Balls
What fresh initiatives or practices should we start batting around?
Base column: Start🚫 No More Hissing & Scratching
Which habits or obstacles should we leave behind in the litter box?
Base column: Stop😺 Keep Purring Along
What tried-and-true things should we keep grooming and enjoying on our agile journey?
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
A playful, cat‑tastic retrospective that helps teams identify new ideas to try, habits to stop, and successful practices to keep.
When to use this template
Use when the team needs a light‑hearted way to surface improvement ideas and celebrate what’s working, especially after a sprint with mixed outcomes.
How to facilitate
Set the stage by reminding the team of the cat metaphor and the three columns: new yarn (Start), no more hissing (Stop), keep purring (Continue).
Give each participant 3–5 minutes to silently write ideas on virtual sticky notes for each column.
Collect the notes and group similar items together, encouraging brief explanations.
Discuss each column, starting with new yarn, then no more hissing, and finally keep purring, voting on the top 2–3 items per column.
Create concrete action items for the selected ideas, assign owners, and close the retro with a quick appreciation round.
Pro Tips
Use cat emojis on the virtual board to keep the theme lively and help participants quickly locate columns.
Limit each participant to a maximum of three ideas per column to keep the discussion focused.
When voting, use a simple dot voting plugin so everyone can see the most popular suggestions at a glance.
FAQ
What if the team runs out of ideas for a column?
Prompt with examples related to the sprint, such as new tools, communication habits, or process tweaks, and allow a brief brainstorming round to spark thoughts.
How do we handle dominant voices during discussion?
Use a timed round‑robin approach where each person gets a set amount of time to share, and rely on the voting results to prioritize topics.
Can we reuse the same ideas in future retros?
Yes, move any unfinished actions back to the appropriate column in the next retro and track progress to ensure continuity.
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At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective