🎃👻 Halloween Haunt Retro
Gather ’round the haunted house to celebrate our treats, confront the tricks, and conjure spells for the next sprint. Let’s turn scares into strengths!
Template Columns
🟢🕸️ Start the Spell
Identify new spooky ideas or practices to begin casting in the next sprint.
Base column: Start🚫👻 Stop the Curses
Highlight haunting habits or blockers that should be banished.
Base column: Stop🔮🧙♀️ Continue the Magic
Keep the enchanting successes and treats that powered our progress.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
A themed retro that lets teams surface new ideas, stop bad habits, and keep successful practices using a fun Halloween motif.
When to use this template
Use when you want to inject energy and creativity into a sprint review, especially after a challenging iteration or before a holiday.
How to facilitate
Set the mood by sharing a quick Halloween ice‑breaker, such as each person naming a spooky word that describes their sprint feeling.
Create three virtual sticky‑note columns labeled Start the Spell, Stop the Curses, and Continue the Magic.
Give participants 5 minutes to silently write observations on separate notes, using emojis or short phrases, and place them in the appropriate column.
Facilitate a round‑robin discussion, inviting the team to explain each note, group similar items, and vote on the top two items in each column.
Translate the top votes into concrete action items, assign owners, and capture them in the sprint backlog.
Pro Tips
Encourage the use of Halloween‑themed icons or GIFs to keep energy high without distracting from the content.
Limit each note to one idea and a maximum of 10 words to keep the board scannable.
When voting, use a quick poll tool so remote participants can vote simultaneously.
FAQ
What if the team runs out of ideas for a column?
Prompt with specific prompts like ‘What surprised you this sprint?’ or allow silent brainstorming for an extra minute to generate more items.
How do we keep the Halloween theme professional?
Use light‑hearted emojis and themed language while focusing on actionable insights; the fun element is a catalyst, not a distraction.
What if remote participants have connectivity issues during voting?
Offer an alternative like a simple chat poll or a shared Google Sheet where they can type their votes, ensuring everyone’s voice is captured.
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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