🎆✨ Fireworks Night
Gather around the night sky of our sprint, celebrate the dazzling wins, learn from the fizzling sparks, and set off brighter ideas for the next burst.
Template Columns
🎇 Sparkling Successes
Highlight the bright moments that lit up our sprint.
Base column: What Went Well💥 Explosive Setbacks
Identify the fizzling or exploding issues that dimmed our display.
Base column: What Went Wrong🚀 Future Fireworks
Plan improvements to make our next show even more spectacular.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
A celebratory sprint retrospective that highlights wins, uncovers setbacks, and sparks ideas for future improvements.
When to use this template
Use when the team wants a high‑energy review that balances celebration with constructive planning, especially after a milestone or release.
How to facilitate
Set the stage by reminding the team of the sprint goal and the fireworks theme, and ask everyone to keep contributions brief and focused.
In the Sparkling Successes column, have each participant write one or two bright moments on virtual sticky notes and place them on the board.
Give the group a few minutes to read all successes, then invite quick shout‑outs or applause emojis to acknowledge each win.
Move to the Explosive Setbacks column, encouraging honest but respectful notes about anything that fizzled, slowed progress, or caused frustration.
Facilitate a brief discussion to cluster similar setbacks and surface root causes, then transition to the Future Fireworks column where the team brainstorms concrete actions or experiments to improve the next sprint.
Vote on the top three improvement ideas using reaction stickers, assign owners, and capture them as actionable items.
Close the session by summarizing the wins, the key learnings, and the agreed next steps, and thank the team for their contributions.
Pro Tips
Use a timer for each column to keep energy high and prevent over‑analysis.
Encourage the use of emojis or GIFs on virtual sticky notes to make the board visually lively and reinforce the fireworks theme.
When clustering setbacks, ask “What underlying pattern caused this?” to turn complaints into actionable insights.
FAQ
What if some team members are reluctant to share setbacks?
Normalize the theme by framing setbacks as ‘fizzles’ that are natural in any fireworks show, and model openness by sharing your own.
How do we keep the session from running too long?
Set a strict timebox for each column (e.g., 8 minutes) and use a visible timer; if discussion drifts, gently steer back to the agenda.
Can we use this format for a non‑technical team?
Absolutely; the metaphor works for any group that wants to celebrate achievements and plan improvements, just adjust the language to fit their context.
What if we end up with too many improvement ideas?
Group similar ideas together, then vote for the top three that will have the biggest impact, and defer the rest to the backlog.
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At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
What Went Well, What Went Wrong, What We Want to Improve
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective