🪄⚡️ Hogwarts Quest
Gather your wands! In this Hogwarts-inspired retro, we’ll cast spells on what to start, stop, continue, and change, turning our sprint into a magical success.
Template Columns
🪄✨ Cast New Spells
Identify fresh practices to conjure better outcomes.
Base column: Start🚫🧹 Sweep Away Dark Arts
Highlight habits that hinder our magic and should be abandoned.
Base column: Stop🔮📚 Keep the Wizardry
Celebrate ongoing strengths that keep our team spellbound.
Base column: Continue🔄⚗️ Brew New Potions
Suggest adjustments to improve our alchemy of work.
Base column: ChangeAbout this template
A Hogwarts‑themed sprint retro where teams conjure new practices, discard unhelpful habits, celebrate strengths, and brew improvements.
When to use this template
Great for teams wanting a fun, themed way to surface actionable ideas and boost engagement after a busy sprint.
How to facilitate
Gather the team in a virtual Hogwarts “Great Hall” and explain the four magical columns
Give each participant 5 minutes to silently write ideas on virtual sticky notes for each column
Collect the notes, group similar ideas, and place them under the appropriate column on the board
Facilitate a discussion: first explore “Cast New Spells”, then “Sweep Away Dark Arts”, followed by “Keep the Wizardry”, and finally “Brew New Potions”
Vote on the top two items in each column using emoji reactions to prioritize actions
Summarize the agreed actions, assign owners, and record them in the sprint backlog
Close with a quick “House Points” shout‑out for contributions
Pro Tips
Use Hogwarts‑themed emojis or icons to keep the mood magical and help visual sorting
Limit each column to 5‑7 items to keep the discussion focused and timeboxed
Encourage participants to phrase items as spells (e.g., “Cast Daily Stand‑up Reminder”) for consistency
If time is tight, combine voting and action‑assignment into a single rapid round
FAQ
What if the team isn’t familiar with Hogwarts references?
Keep the theme optional, explain each column in plain terms, and use the magical language as a fun overlay
How do we handle a large team?
Split into smaller groups for the silent idea‑generation phase, then reconvene to merge the sticky notes
What if we run out of time?
Prioritize the “Cast New Spells” and “Sweep Away Dark Arts” columns first, and limit voting to the top three items
How can we turn the identified spells into concrete actions?
After voting, assign a clear owner and a due date for each selected item, and add them to the sprint backlog as actionable tickets
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At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
5-12 people
- Columns
4 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue, Change
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective