🎉🚗 Ferris Bueller's Day Off Retro
Skip the school, seize the day! Let’s reflect on our sprint like Ferris—celebrate wins, ditch the detours, and keep the momentum rolling.
Template Columns
🚀 Take Off
Identify new ideas and actions to launch our next adventure.
Base column: Start🛑 Hit the Brakes
Spot habits or blockers we need to pause for smoother cruising.
Base column: Stop🏎️ Keep Cruising
Highlight practices that keep our sprint moving forward.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
A fun, action‑oriented retro that celebrates wins, stops blockers, and launches new ideas, using a Ferris Bueller road‑trip theme.
When to use this template
Use when the team needs a high‑energy check‑in after a busy sprint or when you want to boost morale while still gathering actionable insights.
How to facilitate
Introduce the Ferris Bueller theme and explain the three columns: Take Off, Hit the Brakes, Keep Cruising
Give each participant 3–5 minutes to silently add sticky notes to each column with ideas, blockers, or practices
Group similar notes together and use dot voting to surface the top two or three items in each column
Discuss the top Take Off items and turn them into concrete action items with owners and due dates
Review the top Hit the Brakes items, decide which habits to stop immediately, and assign responsibility for removal
Highlight the Keep Cruising practices, note how to reinforce them, and close with a quick celebration of successes
Pro Tips
Set a timer for each phase to keep energy high and prevent over‑analysis
Encourage participants to phrase items as verbs (e.g., "automate deployment") for clearer actions
After the retro, capture the action items in a shared board and review progress at the next stand‑up
FAQ
What if the team struggles to generate Take Off ideas?
Prompt with examples such as "new tool trial" or "process tweak" and allow a brief round of rapid brainstorming before silent writing.
How do we keep the fun theme from distracting from actionable outcomes?
Allocate specific time for the theme introduction and then shift focus to concrete actions; remind the group that the theme is a framing device, not the goal.
Can this retro be used for a short sprint or a single story?
Yes, simply reduce the voting time and limit each column to one or two high‑impact items to keep the session concise.
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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