🍝🇮🇹 Italian Vacation Voyage
Pack your bags for a retro through scenic Italy! Share what to savor, skip, and keep doing as we journey through our agile adventure—just like planning la dolce vita!
Template Columns
🍦 Experiences to Savor (Start)
Suggest new practices or ideas to try on our ongoing Italian adventure.
Base column: Start🚦 Traffic to Avoid (Stop)
Identify processes or habits to halt, like avoiding tourist traps in Italy.
Base column: Stop🍷 Delights to Sip Again (Continue)
Celebrate ongoing strengths we should continue, like reordering your favorite Italian wine.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Italian Vacation Voyage retrospective invites teams to reflect on their journey by savoring new experiences, identifying traffic to avoid, and toasting continued delights. This playful, travel-inspired format fosters open conversation about what to start, stop, and continue.
When to use this template
This retrospective is ideal for teams wanting a fun, fresh perspective or after a sprint packed with new challenges. Use it when you want to boost engagement and constructive feedback.
How to facilitate
Open with a warm welcome and introduce the Italian vacation theme to set an upbeat mood.
Share the meaning of each column: experiences to savor (start), traffic to avoid (stop), and delights to sip again (continue).
Invite team members to add their thoughts to each column—encourage everyone to consider both concrete actions and general practices.
Give team members time to read and group similar items collaboratively, sparking discussion and clarifying intentions.
Guide the team through open sharing; focus on drawing out insights by connecting the Italian adventure metaphor to real team situations.
Facilitate a discussion to prioritize the most impactful ideas and agree on a few specific action items to carry forward.
Wrap up by celebrating how the team is embracing 'la dolce vita' in their work life and summarizing next steps.
Pro Tips
Use culturally relevant music or imagery to immerse the team and boost creativity.
Invite quieter voices to share by referencing the shared vacation metaphor—this can make feedback less personal and more playful.
Lean into the theme by sharing a quick fun fact or photo related to Italian culture between sections.
Map action items to real 'travel plans' for the next sprint, tying back to the journey metaphor.
FAQ
What if team members find the travel theme distracting?
Frame the theme as a lens for creative thinking. If some feel it's too playful, reinforce that the goal is rich feedback—adapt the level of metaphor as needed.
How do I keep the conversation balanced across all columns?
Prompt the team to add at least one idea to each column, and steer discussion if one area gets more attention than others.
How do we ensure actions from 'experiences to savor' are realistic?
Encourage the team to link suggested experiments to current priorities, and check for feasibility before adding them to your plan.
Can we use this format for remote or hybrid teams?
Absolutely—it's designed to be engaging for distributed teams, and the metaphor helps keep everyone invested regardless of location.
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