☃️❄️ Snowflake Sprint
Bundle up and glide through our sprint like a snowman, celebrating the frosty wins, melting the drifts, and shaping the next snowball of progress.
Template Columns
⛄️ Build the Snowball
Identify fresh initiatives to kick off, like rolling a new snowball for our project.
Base column: Start☃️ Melt the Ice
Pinpoint practices that are freezing progress and should be melted away.
Base column: Stop❄️ Keep the Frosty Flow
Highlight the chilly successes we want to keep flowing into future sprints.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
A frosty-themed sprint retrospective that celebrates wins, melts blockers, and seeds new ideas for upcoming work.
When to use this template
Best for teams that want a fun, seasonal spin while focusing on what to start, stop, and continue in a sprint.
How to facilitate
Gather the team in a virtual whiteboard and set the Snowflake Sprint board with three columns
Ask participants to write individual sticky notes for each column: new initiatives for Build the Snowball, blockers for Melt the Ice, and successes for Keep the Frosty Flow
Group similar notes together, discuss each cluster, and vote on the top items to act on
Summarize decisions, assign owners, and capture action items in the shared document
Pro Tips
Use a timer for each discussion segment to keep energy high
Encourage brief, specific notes—one sentence per sticky—to avoid overload
Leverage anonymous submissions for honest feedback on blockers
FAQ
What if the team runs out of ideas for new initiatives?
Prompt with open‑ended questions like ‘What experiment could improve our flow?’ and allow silent brainstorming before sharing.
How do we handle dominant voices during discussion?
Use a round‑robin format or assign a facilitator to call on quieter members, ensuring balanced input.
Can we combine this with other retrospective formats?
Yes, you can run Snowflake Sprint as a quick warm‑up before a deeper analysis like a 5‑Why or Lean Coffee.
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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