☕️ Morning Coffee Club
Start your day right! Gather around our virtual coffee table and reflect on what energized us, what left a bitter taste, and how we can brew an even better sprint next time.
Template Columns
🌞 Fresh Brews
Share what energized and motivated us this sprint, just like a great cup of coffee.
Base column: What Went Well🕳️ Coffee Grounds
Reveal the issues or setbacks that left a bitter taste during our work.
Base column: What Went Wrong🔬 Perfect the Brew
Suggest ways we can refine our process for a smoother, richer next sprint.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
The Morning Coffee Club retrospective uses coffee-inspired prompts to help teams reflect on sprint highs, lows, and process improvements in a relaxed, approachable way.
When to use this template
This retrospective works especially well at the start of a day or sprint review, when you want to encourage open sharing and set a positive, energized tone for the team.
How to facilitate
Welcome everyone and set the scene by inviting team members to imagine gathering at a virtual coffee table to kick off the day and the retrospective.
Explain the meaning of each column so everyone understands the coffee-themed prompts: moments of energy (Fresh Brews), frustrations (Coffee Grounds), and suggestions for improvement (Perfect the Brew).
Give everyone a few minutes to add cards to each column, reflecting individually before sharing aloud.
Invite each team member to share what they posted, starting with the Fresh Brews to celebrate positive moments together.
Move to the Coffee Grounds, encouraging honest discussion about challenges while fostering a constructive, blame-free environment.
Focus on the Perfect the Brew column to brainstorm actionable process changes or ideas for making the next sprint more enjoyable and effective.
Guide the team in selecting 1–2 improvements to prioritize, ensuring clear ownership for follow-through.
Close the session by inviting each person to share one thing they’re looking forward to (optionally themed as a ‘favorite brew’ for next time).
Pro Tips
Set a casual tone by encouraging team members to bring a real or virtual coffee (or tea) as an icebreaker.
Use the coffee metaphor to keep discussions light and judgment-free, making it easier for quieter voices to contribute.
Balance the time spent on what went well and what was challenging to maintain motivation and honesty.
Save a few minutes at the end to celebrate small wins, reinforcing positive energy for the rest of the day.
FAQ
What if someone doesn’t drink coffee or doesn’t like the theme?
Emphasize that the coffee metaphor is just for fun and everyone can interpret it as 'start-of-day energy', not limited to coffee lovers.
How do I keep the session from feeling too informal or off-topic?
Set clear ground rules at the start and gently steer conversation back to the template columns if it drifts away from reflection and improvement.
What if we run out of time before assigning action items?
Prioritize discussing improvement ideas and agree on the most realistic actions, even if you need to park less critical topics for later follow-up.
At a glance
- Duration
35–50 min
- Team Size
3-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
What Went Well, What Went Wrong, What We Want to Improve
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective