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🎉 Playground of Progress

Step right up to our retro carnival! Let’s make our team as fun-filled and collaborative as a day at the fair—reflect, learn, and keep our project full of playful momentum!
35–50 min
3-10 people
Based on: Start, Stop, Continue
🎉 Playground of Progress
Template Columns
🎈 Fun Ventures to Start

Suggest new playful ideas or practices to spark more fun and engagement in our teamwork.

Base column: Start
🎠 Fun Drainers to Stop

Call out habits or practices that stifle the fun, so we can put an end to them!

Base column: Stop
🍭 Fun Traditions to Continue

Highlight the fun, energizing things we’re already doing—let’s keep them going!

Base column: Continue
About this template

The Playground of Progress retrospective brings carnival energy to your team, inviting everyone to spotlight playful new ideas, stop fun-killing habits, and continue energizing traditions for a more engaging project experience.

When to use this template

Use this template when your team needs to boost energy, creativity, and engagement, especially after demanding sprints or if collaboration feels flat.

How to facilitate
1

Welcome the team and introduce the carnival theme, explaining each column’s purpose to set an upbeat atmosphere

2

Ask everyone to reflect individually and add ideas to each column: Fun Ventures to Start, Fun Drainers to Stop, and Fun Traditions to Continue

3

Allow time for participants to review and group similar items in each column together to spot patterns

4

Invite the team to discuss each theme, focusing first on Fun Drainers to Stop, then Fun Ventures to Start, and finally Fun Traditions to Continue

5

Facilitate voting to prioritize the top items the team wants to address or celebrate

6

Convert high-priority suggestions into clear, actionable next steps or mini-experiments

7

Wrap up with a quick group reflection: ask how the playful approach affected engagement during the retro

Pro Tips

Encourage stories or examples in each column to spark laughter and deeper discussion

Tie new playful ideas to your team's goals to ensure fun boosts—not distracts from—project progress

Use music or playful visuals to reinforce the theme and make the session memorable

Watch for quieter voices—prompt everyone to suggest at least one item per column

Refine traditions to keep them fresh and avoid routine fatigue

FAQ
What if our team struggles to suggest new fun ideas?

Offer prompts or examples, and remind everyone that even small changes can have a big impact. Celebrate every suggestion to create a safe environment.

How do we ensure playful ideas don’t derail project focus?

Align each idea with clear project goals, and agree as a team which playful practices enhance collaboration.

Our remote team feels awkward with 'fun'—how do we get buy-in?

Normalize experimentation and invite everyone to opt in at their comfort level. Highlight how play can improve morale and communication.

At a glance
  • Duration

    35–50 min

  • Team Size

    3-10 people

  • Columns

    3 columns

  • Base Format

    Start, Stop, Continue

Tags
team engagement
fun at work
team culture
creative retrospectives
energy boost
collaboration
Ready to get started?

Use this template to run your next retrospective