🐃🌲 Clash of Bison in the Forest
Charge into the wild retro arena! Like mighty bison clashing in the forest, let’s air out our clashes, clear paths, and discover ways to strengthen our agile herd. Get ready to stomp, reflect, and grow together!
Template Columns
🌱 New Growth Paths
Share ideas we should start to ensure our herd’s journey through the forest thrives.
Base column: Start🚫 Forest Obstacles
Spot actions or habits we should stop before they block or divide our bison herd.
Base column: Stop💪 Strong Herd Moves
Celebrate successful practices we should continue to keep our herd strong and unified.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
A dynamic start‑stop‑continue retro that uses a bison‑in‑the‑forest theme to surface new ideas, remove obstacles, and reinforce strengths.
When to use this template
Use when the team needs a quick, energizing pulse check and wants to align on actionable improvements after a sprint or milestone.
How to facilitate
Set the scene by introducing the ‘Clash of Bison in the Forest’ metaphor and explain the three columns
Ask each participant to write one observation per column on virtual sticky notes, focusing on new growth paths, forest obstacles, and strong herd moves
Group similar notes together, then have the team vote on the top three items in each column using dot voting
Discuss the highest‑voted items, turning ‘New Growth Paths’ into concrete experiments, ‘Forest Obstacles’ into stop‑actions, and ‘Strong Herd Moves’ into practices to keep
Capture agreed‑upon actions in a shared board, assign owners, and set a review date for the next retro
Pro Tips
Limit each participant to three sticky notes per column to keep the board focused and avoid analysis paralysis
Use a timer for each phase to maintain momentum and respect the 45‑minute window
When voting, encourage silent voting first, then a quick round of brief justifications to surface hidden insights
FAQ
What if the team runs out of ideas for a column?
Prompt with guiding questions such as ‘What could we start doing to improve collaboration?’ and allow a brief silent brainstorming before writing.
How do we handle dominant voices during discussion?
Use a round‑robin format or ask the facilitator to explicitly invite quieter members to share their perspective.
Can this retro be used for longer projects?
Yes, repeat the same structure at regular intervals; the themes stay fresh while the actions evolve with the project’s phases.
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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