🐋🌊 Orca Odyssey
Dive into the deep blue of our sprint, surfacing successes and navigating challenges like a pod of orcas, steering our agile journey forward.
Template Columns
🐋🚀 Set Sail
Identify fresh initiatives to launch our pod’s momentum.
Base column: Start🛑🌊 Calm Waters
Highlight practices to halt that cause turbulence in our flow.
Base column: Stop🐬🔁 Keep Swimming
Reinforce the habits that keep our pod moving smoothly.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
Orca Odyssey is a marine‑themed sprint retrospective that surfaces successes, stops disruptive practices, and reinforces smooth habits to keep the team moving forward.
When to use this template
Use when the team wants a lively, thematic way to review the sprint and align on next actions, especially after several iterations or when morale needs a boost.
How to facilitate
Gather the pod by opening with a brief story about orcas navigating the ocean and set the purpose of the session
Set Sail column: ask participants to write fresh initiatives they want to launch, place them on the board and discuss priorities
Calm Waters column: collect practices that caused turbulence, explore root causes and decide which to stop
Keep Swimming column: identify habits that kept flow, celebrate them and commit to continue
Vote on the top items from each column to create clear sprint goals
Close with a quick reflection on how the pod will navigate the next sprint
Pro Tips
Use marine emojis and icons on the board to keep the theme engaging
Run silent brainstorming for each column to ensure all voices are heard
Limit each entry to one concise sentence to keep the board readable
Set a timer for each column to maintain momentum
FAQ
What if we run out of ideas for a column?
Prompt the team with specific questions, such as “What helped us move faster?” or “What slowed us down?” to spark additional thoughts.
How do we turn items into concrete actions?
After voting, assign an owner and a due date to each top item, turning it into a clear sprint commitment.
Can this format work for a small team?
Yes, with fewer participants the discussion stays focused and you can combine voting and action planning into a single step.
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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