✈️ Flight Retrospective
Welcome aboard Flight Agile! Let’s soar above the clouds, navigating turbulence and celebrating smooth skies. Share what new systems to deploy, which baggage to drop, and which routes to keep clear for a safe, high-flying journey ahead.
Template Columns
🛫 Prepare for Takeoff
Suggest new practices or tools we should deploy to boost our project’s altitude.
Base column: Start🧳 Drop Unwanted Baggage
Identify habits or processes to leave behind for a smoother, lighter journey.
Base column: Stop✈️ Glide at Cruising Altitude
Highlight actions and methods that helped us fly smoothly—let’s maintain this steady course.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Flight Retrospective uses a travel-inspired format to help teams reflect on new initiatives, shed unhelpful practices, and reinforce successful behaviors for future sprints.
When to use this template
Use this retrospective when your team is transitioning between major project phases, has experienced turbulence, or wants to assess ways to refine both new and established ways of working.
How to facilitate
Kick off the session with a brief welcome and set the theme by inviting everyone to imagine they are the crew preparing for an important flight.
Review the three columns and briefly explain what each one represents for your team's journey.
Ask team members to silently add their thoughts to each column: what should we try next (Prepare for Takeoff), what should we stop doing (Drop Unwanted Baggage), and what should we keep doing (Glide at Cruising Altitude).
Once all ideas are posted, review each column together—group similar ideas, clarify meaning, and encourage discussion around key points.
Facilitate a round of prioritization, asking the group to agree on which actions or changes should be your focus for the next flight (iteration).
End by assigning clear action items and ensuring owners for each, then wrap up with a brief reflection on the process.
Pro Tips
Anchor each column’s discussion with real examples from your latest release or sprint to make insights actionable.
If conversation stalls, prompt the group with ‘what would make the next sprint feel lighter or faster?’ for inspiration.
Summarize decisions visually on a shared screen or board so the team can track changes over time.
FAQ
How do we handle disagreement on what baggage to drop?
Foster psychological safety so differing opinions can be voiced, then seek consensus or experiment with trying changes temporarily to evaluate their impact.
What if the team struggles to come up with 'takeoff' ideas?
Prompt the group to consider pain points or missed opportunities from the last sprint, or look outside your team for inspiration from peers and industry practices.
Can this format be used for non-software teams?
Yes, this analogy-driven approach works well in any context where teams want to reflect on practices, regardless of industry.
At a glance
- Duration
40–55 min
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective