✨ Simply Agile
Let’s embrace the beauty of simplicity! In this minimalist retro, we’ll cut the clutter and focus on what truly matters, making our agile journey smoother and more effective. Ready to keep it simple and efficient? Let’s get started!
Template Columns
🟢 Clean Beginnings
Suggest straightforward actions we can start to make our process simpler and more effective.
Base column: Start🛑 Unnecessary Complexity
Identify steps or habits we should stop to eliminate confusion and streamline our workflow.
Base column: Stop🔄 Simply Effective
Highlight the practices that are working well and should continue to keep things easy and efficient.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Simply Agile retrospective is a minimalist format designed to help teams identify what to start, stop, or continue doing to keep their agile process clear, simple, and effective.
When to use this template
This template is ideal when your team is feeling overwhelmed by process or needs to refocus on what truly matters. Use it when you want to strip back unnecessary complexity and optimize how you work together.
How to facilitate
Welcome the team and explain the purpose: to simplify and streamline your agile process for greater effectiveness.
Briefly review each column—Clean Beginnings (what to add to keep things simple), Unnecessary Complexity (what to stop to reduce clutter), and Simply Effective (what’s working well and should continue).
Set a short timebox for silent brainstorming, encouraging everyone to add thoughts to each column.
Invite the team to review and group similar ideas in each column, fostering collaboration and shared understanding.
Facilitate a team discussion to clarify entries, especially where there are disagreements or uncertainty.
Prioritize actions together, focusing only on 1-2 key improvements to start and stop, while reinforcing what to continue.
Agree on clear owners and next steps for any chosen action items.
End with a quick pulse check: does everyone feel the process is now simpler and more focused? Collect feedback for future sessions.
Pro Tips
Encourage the team to avoid over-analysis—aim for clear, practical suggestions that remove blockers or noise.
Challenge the team to articulate the benefits of each suggestion in one sentence to keep ideas focused.
For recurring complexity, explore the root cause together rather than just the symptom.
Remind everyone that some complexity is necessary; focus on eliminating only what doesn’t directly add value.
FAQ
What if the team struggles to agree on what is truly unnecessary complexity?
Facilitate a short root cause discussion or vote to clarify which practices genuinely add no value. Focus on consensus rather than perfection.
How do we prevent valuable steps from being eliminated?
Ask the team to explain the impact of suggested removals. Only agree to drop steps where the loss of value is minimal and the simplification benefit is clear.
Can we use this template if we are new to agile?
Yes, this format is simple and welcoming for any team—newer teams may especially benefit from regularly reviewing what's working and what's not.
At a glance
- Duration
30–40 min
- Team Size
3-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective