🍊 Orange Orchard Retrospective
Welcome to the Orange Orchard! Let’s cultivate our agile growth by picking out fresh ideas, pruning old habits, and nurturing what’s already juicy and fruitful. Harvest insights to keep our grove thriving!
Template Columns
🌱 Plant New Seeds
Share fresh ideas and practices we should start cultivating to make our grove even healthier.
Base column: Start✂️ Prune the Branches
Identify habits or blockers we should stop, just like trimming what stunts our orchard’s growth.
Base column: Stop🍊 Nurture the Juicy Oranges
Celebrate what’s already fruitful—let’s keep nurturing the approaches and successes that are producing the best oranges!
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Orange Orchard Retrospective is a fresh, growth-focused format where teams plant new ideas, prune unhelpful habits, and nurture what is working well to keep improving together.
When to use this template
Use this format at the end of a sprint or project when your team wants to balance celebrating wins, identifying blockers, and brainstorming practical improvements.
How to facilitate
Set the scene by introducing the Orange Orchard theme and explaining the significance of each column to encourage creative, open thinking.
Invite everyone to add thoughts to each column: Plant New Seeds for new ideas, Prune the Branches for things to stop, and Nurture the Juicy Oranges for what’s going well.
Give everyone silent time to write their cards, fostering honest input without group influence.
Review cards as a group, starting with positives, then moving to things to stop, and ending with ideas to start; prompt clarifying questions.
Cluster similar cards and discuss themes, surfacing patterns or pressing topics together.
Define clear action items for top priorities in each column so everyone leaves with shared commitments.
Close by reflecting briefly on the process and harvesting feedback on the retro’s format for future improvement.
Pro Tips
Use the orchard theme to help lighten difficult topics and create a welcoming, collaborative atmosphere.
Encourage team members to add specific, actionable starting and stopping suggestions to drive real change.
Refresh the ‘juicy oranges’ column often—regular celebration motivates continuous improvement.
FAQ
What if team members only fill out one column?
Gently prompt the group to consider all perspectives by sharing personal examples in each area and stressing the value of balance.
How can we turn broad suggestions into concrete actions?
Ask follow-up questions during discussion to clarify, break ideas into smaller steps, and assign clear owners for next actions.
How do we keep retros lively if the orchard theme feels cheesy?
Adapt the language to fit your team's culture while preserving the core structure focused on starting, stopping, and continuing.
At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective