🎃👻 Haunted Harvest Retrospective
Step into our spooky pumpkin patch, where we reap Halloween tales! Let’s ghost away the ghouls of our process, conjure new rituals, and cast spells for future success. Trick-or-treat your feedback—let’s make our agile journey a scream!
Template Columns
🕯️ Light the Lanterns (Start)
Illuminate new ideas and practices we should try out this season.
Base column: Start🕸️ Sweep Away the Cobwebs (Stop)
Reveal habits and horrors we need to put to rest for good.
Base column: Stop🍬 Fill the Candy Bowl (Continue)
Share the sweet successes and reliable rituals to keep.
Base column: Continue🦇 Transform with Magic (Change)
Suggest enchanting changes or experiments for the next sprint.
Base column: ChangeAbout this template
A Halloween‑themed retrospective that helps teams surface what to start, stop, continue, and change using spooky imagery.
When to use this template
Use when you want to inject fun and fresh perspective, especially after a busy sprint or before a holiday break.
How to facilitate
Set up a virtual board with the four themed columns and share the Halloween story to frame the session.
Invite each participant to write their ideas on sticky notes, using the column prompts for Start, Stop, Continue, and Change.
Group similar notes together, discuss the most impactful items, and vote on the top three for each column.
Summarize the agreed actions, assign owners, and decide on concrete next‑step experiments for the upcoming sprint.
Close the session with a quick spooky ice‑breaker or a themed GIF to celebrate the team's insights.
Pro Tips
Encourage playful language and emojis on notes to keep the mood light and creative.
Limit discussion time per column with a visible timer to maintain momentum.
Capture the final action items in a shared document and revisit them in the next sprint planning.
FAQ
What if the team feels the Halloween theme is distracting?
Explain that the theme is a fun framing device and reassure participants they can focus on the content; you can also switch to a neutral board if needed.
How do we handle a large number of ideas without losing focus?
Cluster similar notes quickly and use dot voting to surface the most important items, keeping the discussion concise.
What if some team members are reluctant to share negative feedback?
Create an anonymous poll or allow private note submissions before the group discussion to surface hidden concerns.
Want a custom template?
Create a retrospective template tailored to your team's needs with our AI-powered generator
At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
4 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue, Change
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective