🎃👻 Halloween Retrospective
Gather your ghouls and goblins for a spooky sprint review—celebrate the treats, confront the tricks, and brew up improvements for a hauntingly successful next sprint.
Template Columns
🕸️🎃 Spooky Successes
Celebrate the treats and triumphs that haunted our sprint.
Base column: What Went Well👻🕷️ Ghoulish Glitches
Reveal the scares and missteps that gave us chills.
Base column: What Went Wrong🧙♀️🪄 Witchy Wishes
Conjure ideas to cast better spells for the next sprint.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
A themed sprint retrospective that uses Halloween imagery to celebrate wins, surface issues, and plan improvements in a fun, spooky atmosphere.
When to use this template
Use when the team wants a light‑hearted, engaging session, especially around Halloween or to boost morale after a challenging sprint.
How to facilitate
Begin with a quick Halloween icebreaker, such as sharing a favorite spooky movie or costume, then display the three columns on the virtual board.
Ask participants to add sticky notes to the Spooky Successes column, focusing on treats and triumphs from the sprint.
Next, have the team populate the Ghoulish Glitches column with scares, missteps, or anything that gave them chills during the sprint.
Move to the Witchy Wishes column where everyone writes ideas for spells (actions) that could improve the next sprint.
Group similar items, vote on the top three items in each column, and turn the top wishes into concrete action items with owners and due dates.
Pro Tips
Encourage the use of Halloween emojis or icons on sticky notes to keep the mood playful while still being clear.
Limit each participant to a set number of notes per column to keep the board focused and avoid overload.
After voting, turn the top wishes into SMART actions and add them to the team's backlog immediately.
FAQ
What if the team feels the Halloween theme is distracting?
Acknowledge the concern and briefly explain the purpose is to boost engagement; you can tone down the decorations or switch to a neutral theme if needed.
How do we handle a large number of items in the Ghoulish Glitches column?
Cluster similar notes together, then use dot voting to prioritize the most critical issues for discussion.
Can this format work for a fully remote team?
Yes, the digital board and emoji stickers work well online; just ensure everyone has access to the board and a stable connection before starting.
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At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
5-12 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