🪄🦉 Magical Hogwarts Retrospective
Welcome to Hogwarts! Cast spells of reflection, share your magical wins, and banish the dark arts from our workflow. Let's conjure improvements and keep our agile journey enchanted!
Template Columns
🟢 Lumos New Habits
Illuminate new practices or routines we should start, like learning a new spell.
Base column: Start🛑 Expelliarmus Bad Patterns
Disarm and stop those pesky habits or blockers haunting our work, just like defeating a dark wizard.
Base column: Stop🔮 Patronus Power Moves
Protect and continue the magical actions that bring light and success to our sprint, like casting a strong Patronus.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Magical Hogwarts Retrospective uses enchanting themes to help teams spotlight new habits, dispel unhelpful patterns, and celebrate effective practices. This playful, themed format boosts engagement while promoting honest reflection and actionable change.
When to use this template
This retrospective is perfect after sprints where energy feels low, creativity is needed, or the team could benefit from a fresh, fun environment to tackle old challenges in new ways.
How to facilitate
Set the magical scene by welcoming the team to Hogwarts, explaining the column themes, and inviting everyone to play along with the theme for extra fun.
Invite team members to reflect silently and add notes to each column: Lumos New Habits for new routines, Expelliarmus Bad Patterns for blockers to remove, and Patronus Power Moves for successful actions to continue.
Once everyone’s ideas are visible, encourage the team to group similar notes and clarify any magical references people used.
Lead a group discussion for each column: explore which habits to illuminate, which bad patterns must be disarmed, and which power moves are worth conjuring again.
Prioritize actionable takeaways by voting or reaching consensus, focusing on no more than 2–3 improvements for the next sprint.
Summarize key actions, assign owners if needed, and close by reflecting on how this magical approach influenced the discussion or energy.
Pro Tips
Encourage playful language to fully embrace the Hogwarts theme and spark creativity.
Use magical props, backgrounds, or virtual accessories to bring the spirit of the retrospective alive.
Frame blockers as 'Dark Arts' to make discussing tough issues feel safer and less personal.
Prompt quieter team members with fun prompts like 'What spell would you cast to fix this process?'
FAQ
What if my team isn’t familiar with Harry Potter?
You can briefly explain the magical references or adapt them to fit your team’s interests, focusing on the core ideas of start, stop, and continue.
How do I keep discussions focused and productive with a playful theme?
Set clear goals at the start, summarize regularly, and gently redirect if the conversation becomes too off-topic.
How many actions should we take away from each retrospective?
Aim for 2–3 achievable actions to keep improvements focused and prevent overload.
Is this template only for fun, or does it drive real improvement?
The playful theme boosts engagement and honesty, while the start-stop-continue structure ensures practical outcomes.
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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