👻 Haunted Sprint
Welcome to the Haunted Sprint Retro! Let’s summon the spirits of our project’s past to uncover hidden successes, banish lingering troubles, and invoke changes for a future free of spooky blockers.
Template Columns
🪞 Positive Reflections
Reveal the ghostly glimmers of what went well during our sprint.
Base column: What Went Well👻 Lingering Haunts
Identify the spooky specters and chilling issues that gave us trouble.
Base column: What Went Wrong🔮 Summon Improvements
Conjure up ideas to ward off future problems and perfect our process.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
The Haunted Sprint retrospective draws on a fun paranormal theme to help teams reflect on wins, surface ongoing challenges, and collaboratively brainstorm improvements after each sprint.
When to use this template
Use this template at the end of a sprint when the team needs to address recurring problems, celebrate small victories, or uncover hidden blockers in a creative, engaging way.
How to facilitate
Set the scene with a brief introduction, encouraging your team to play along with the haunted theme and create a relaxed, fun environment.
Start with Positive Reflections, inviting everyone to share stories about things that went surprisingly well or unexpected successes, ensuring each participant contributes.
Move on to Lingering Haunts, prompting the team to surface challenges or issues that have continued to haunt the team or were particularly frustrating this sprint.
Facilitate Summon Improvements, inviting suggestions for new approaches, experiments, or process changes to help the team drive out old ghosts and avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Cluster similar items in each column and discuss the top themes, encouraging open and honest discussion while keeping the mood light.
Decide on one or two improvement actions to implement in the next sprint, making sure the team agrees and volunteers are assigned if needed.
Close by asking for reflections on the session and reminding everyone that facing haunted blockers is a team effort.
Pro Tips
Use a soundboard or fun virtual backgrounds to boost the spooky but light-hearted atmosphere, helping reduce tension around difficult topics.
Invite quieter team members to share by prompting with fun or relatable 'ghost stories' from the sprint.
Keep the session focused and on track by time-boxing each column but allow space for laughter and creative discussion.
Revisit previously identified 'haunts' in future retros to track progress and foster a sense of ownership over team improvement.
FAQ
How do we keep the haunted theme from becoming a distraction?
Commit to the theme in your intro, then use it to break the ice, but keep discussions focused on sprint goals and improvements.
What if team members are hesitant to share their 'haunts'?
Model sharing first and assure the group that identifying challenges is a normal, collaborative process for team growth.
How many improvement actions should we take on?
Focus on one or two manageable changes to maximize follow-through and avoid overwhelming the team.
At a glance
- Duration
45–60 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