🍦🍰 Fun Ice Cream Cake
Scoop into our latest sprint by building the perfect ice cream cake! Celebrate our flavorsome wins, smooth out the melted spots, and craft new recipe improvements together for a delectable next slice.
Template Columns
🍨 Sweet Layers (What Went Well)
Highlight our coolest achievements and the delightful successes from this sprint.
Base column: What Went Well🍦 Melting Moments (What Went Wrong)
Share what parts of the cake (or project) started melting or didn’t stick together as planned.
Base column: What Went Wrong🧁 New Recipes (What We Want to Improve)
Suggest creative ways to layer our cake (teamwork) better in the next sprint.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
The Fun Ice Cream Cake retrospective uses a playful theme to help teams reflect on wins, address challenges, and brainstorm creative improvements.
When to use this template
Use this template when you want to energize your team, encourage candid conversations, and inspire new ideas, particularly after a sprint that could use both celebration and constructive reflection.
How to facilitate
Open the session by welcoming the team and introducing the ice cream cake theme to set a positive, lighthearted mood.
Invite everyone to add their Sweet Layers, sharing the biggest wins and highlights from the sprint.
Ask the team to contribute Melting Moments, focusing on issues, blockers, or things that didn’t go as planned.
Transition to New Recipes, encouraging creative suggestions for improvement and collaboration for the next sprint.
Guide the group in clustering similar ideas and discussing the root causes where needed, keeping the tone constructive.
Help the team prioritize the most impactful improvements and define clear action items.
Wrap up by acknowledging the team’s participation and summing up the key takeaways for an uplifting finish.
Pro Tips
Lean into the playful theme by referencing ice cream or baking analogies during discussion to build engagement.
Use anonymous contributions for Melting Moments to help people speak openly about problems.
Prompt the team to build on each other's 'New Recipes' for greater collaboration and better ideas.
Mix up the facilitation style with small-group breakouts for deeper discussion when needed.
FAQ
What makes this format effective for team retros?
Its playful theme encourages open, honest sharing and sparks imagination, leading to richer discussions and more creative solutions.
How do we handle too many 'Melting Moments'?
Guide the team to group similar items and focus on those that have the largest impact, so the discussion remains focused and positive.
Can this template be used with larger teams?
It's best for small to mid-size teams, but larger groups can use breakout rooms or split into sub-teams for each column.
At a glance
- Duration
40–55 min
- Team Size
4-10 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