🏸 Smash Hit Retrospective
Step onto the agile court for a badminton-inspired retro! Let's rally together to serve up new ideas, drop ineffective habits, and keep the winning strategies flying high. Ready to ace this sprint?
Template Columns
🔄 Fresh Serves
Share new strategies or approaches we should start to serve up better results.
Base column: Start🛑 Faults to Drop
Highlight actions, habits, or blockers we should stop to avoid losing points.
Base column: Stop🏆 Winning Rallies
Call out the effective plays and teamwork we should continue to keep scoring as a team.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Smash Hit Retrospective helps teams rally around what to start, stop, and continue, using badminton-themed prompts to spark engaging discussions and practical improvements.
When to use this template
Best used at the end of a sprint or project cycle when your team needs a fresh, energizing approach to uncover new opportunities, address blockers, and reinforce effective habits.
How to facilitate
Kick off with a quick introduction to the badminton theme and explain each column so everyone is clear on the focus areas.
Invite team members to add cards to each column: Fresh Serves for new ideas to try, Faults to Drop for habits or blockers to stop, and Winning Rallies for actions or behaviors to keep.
Allow silent time for everyone to add their thoughts individually to encourage wide participation.
Review the entries as a group, clustering similar items and making sure all voices are heard.
Facilitate an open discussion where the team expands on the points, digs into root causes, and prioritizes the most impactful items.
Collaboratively identify key actions, assigning clear owners and realistic timelines for the most important changes.
Close with a quick round of reflections, gathering feedback on the session and energizing the team for the next sprint.
Pro Tips
Use real-life sprint examples to reinforce points and keep the discussion practical.
Encourage quieter team members to contribute by using anonymous card submissions or breakouts.
Frame new ideas as experiments to make it safer for the team to try something different next sprint.
Revisit previous Fresh Serves or Winning Rallies at the start to see how well they landed and keep continuity.
FAQ
What if our team struggles to come up with new ideas for the Fresh Serves column?
Try using prompts or scenarios from recent sprints to get creative juices flowing. Encourage even small experiments—sometimes minor tweaks spark big improvements.
How can we make sure action items don't get forgotten after the session?
Assign clear owners and deadlines for each action. Review progress briefly at the start of the next retro to keep momentum and accountability.
What if certain faults keep reappearing in the Faults to Drop column?
Dive deeper into these recurring blockers during discussion. Look for underlying patterns and consider separate sessions or targeted experiments to resolve stubborn issues.
At a glance
- Duration
30–45 min
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective