🍯🍻 Mead Day Revelry
Raise a virtual horn in honor of progress! In this Mead Day retro, let’s savor sweet successes, address any bitter flavors, and craft a smoother brew for next sprint. Toast to agile improvement—one cup at a time!
Template Columns
🍯 First Ferments
Share fresh ideas or practices we'd like to start infusing into our project’s brew.
Base column: Start🛑 Sour Batches
Pinpoint habits or blockers we should stop so our mead won’t spoil.
Base column: Stop🍻 Golden Ales
Celebrate the tried-and-true methods we want to continue pouring into our agile process.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Mead Day Revelry retrospective invites teams to toast their wins, reflect on missteps, and identify fresh improvements in a fun, celebratory format.
When to use this template
This retrospective is ideal for the end of a productive sprint when your team wants to blend celebration with honest reflection and actionable next steps.
How to facilitate
Welcome everyone with the Mead Day spirit and explain the theme—celebrating what went well and learning from what soured.
Review the column meanings so participants understand where to share their thoughts.
Invite team members to add sticky notes under each column: fresh ideas to start (First Ferments), blockers or bad habits to stop (Sour Batches), and successes to continue (Golden Ales). Give everyone quiet time to contribute.
Discuss each column together: read the notes aloud, ask clarifying questions, and encourage conversation about key points.
Cluster related notes and look for common threads or recurring themes.
As a group, select top actions to address—especially for new ideas (start) and issues to stop—and agree on owners for each.
Close by toasting shared wins and acknowledging everyone's participation, fostering a sense of camaraderie and progress.
Pro Tips
Use playful language and on-theme visuals to keep the energy up and draw out even quiet team members.
Encourage team members to mention not only big wins or blockers, but also smaller daily rituals and frustrations.
Don’t skip the closing toast—it reinforces connection and positivity, especially after discussing challenges.
FAQ
What if team members struggle to list 'First Ferments' (new ideas)?
Prompt them with examples or ask what they'd like to try that could improve just one aspect of the sprint. Innovation often starts small.
How do we prioritize action items from this retro?
Vote as a team on the most impactful or urgent items and focus on a manageable number to follow up on next sprint.
How do I keep the retro from getting too negative during 'Sour Batches'?
Balance every hard conversation with a celebratory highlight from 'Golden Ales' and remind the team that the goal is improvement, not blame.
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