❄️🇮🇸 Icelandic Expedition
Embark on an Icelandic adventure! Navigate glaciers and geysers as we reflect on our journey. Discover what to spark, freeze, or keep flowing to ensure our project thrives through any weather!
Template Columns
🔥 Ignite New Volcanos
Suggest fresh activities or approaches we'd like to spark, just like Iceland's volcanoes bring new land.
Base column: Start🧊 Freeze the Icebergs
Share what blockers or habits should be frozen solid and left behind in our arctic waters.
Base column: Stop💧 Keep the Hot Springs Flowing
Highlight the practices and strengths worth maintaining, like Iceland’s warm geothermal pools.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Icelandic Expedition retrospective invites your team to adventure through wins, challenges, and new ideas by drawing parallels with Iceland's dynamic landscape. Explore what to start, stop, and continue to ensure your team thrives no matter the project climate.
When to use this template
Use this format when you want to energize your team with a novel theme and spark deeper reflection around process changes, especially after a challenging sprint or milestone.
How to facilitate
Open by setting the Icelandic theme and encourage everyone to embrace the spirit of exploration and discovery.
Provide a brief explanation for each column: Igniting volcanoes for fresh ideas, freezing icebergs for blockers, and keeping hot springs flowing for valuable practices.
Give participants a few minutes to individually add cards to each column, focusing on honest and creative contributions.
Kick off a group discussion, reviewing each column in turn starting with 'Freeze the Icebergs' to address blockers first, then 'Ignite New Volcanos', and finally 'Keep the Hot Springs Flowing'.
Facilitate conversations around key themes that emerge, prompting the team to dig deeper and set clear action items based on their reflections.
Close with a commitment round where each team member shares one action or practice they want to focus on until the next retrospective.
Pro Tips
Encourage storytelling by tying feedback or ideas to memorable Icelandic features as metaphors, making discussions more vivid and relatable.
For quieter team members, allow anonymous card submissions to foster psychological safety and amplify lesser-heard voices.
Invite the team to vote on the most impactful 'Ignite' and 'Freeze' items to help prioritize action steps and create focus.
FAQ
How can I help my team come up with creative ideas for the 'Ignite New Volcanos' column?
Open with an icebreaker that sparks imagination, or ask the team to brainstorm as if there were no limits for five minutes.
What if the same issues keep appearing in the 'Freeze the Icebergs' column?
Use this as a prompt for deeper analysis—ask why these blockers persist and work with the team to define a concrete plan of action to address them.
How do I keep the discussion from getting stuck on negatives?
Balance the conversation by highlighting successes in 'Hot Springs' and actively soliciting positive feedback before moving on to problem areas.
At a glance
- Duration
40–55 min
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective