🤠🚀 Space Cowboys Roundup

Saddle up, team! Let's explore the cosmic frontier and wrangle our agile process like true space cowboys—discovering new trails, hitching up what works, and riding off into even bigger wins. Yeehaw to higher velocity!
45–60 min
4-12 people
Based on: Start, Stop, Continue, Change
🤠🚀 Space Cowboys Roundup

Template Columns

🌌 Mount Up!

Share new ideas and practices we should start on our journey through the stars.

Base column: Start
🛑 Holster That!

Call out habits or blockers we should stop to avoid getting lost in space.

Base column: Stop
🤠 Keep Ridin’!

Highlight what’s working—our trusted steed—so we keep moving smoothly.

Base column: Continue
🔄 Change Course!

Suggest adjustments to our route for a smoother ride through the galaxy.

Base column: Change

About this template

A fun, space‑cowboy themed retrospective that helps teams start new ideas, stop blockers, continue strengths, and adjust their course.

When to use this template

Use when the team needs a fresh, energizing perspective and wants to balance celebration with actionable change.

How to facilitate

1

Gather the team in a virtual meeting, set the timer for the chosen duration, and briefly explain the Space Cowboys Roundup theme and the four columns

2

Ask participants to silently write their thoughts on sticky notes for each column: new ideas to start, habits to stop, practices to continue, and adjustments to change course

3

In a round‑robin fashion, have each person place their notes in the corresponding column on the shared board, keeping explanations brief

4

Group similar notes together, then vote with dot stickers or emoji reactions to surface the most important items in each column

5

Facilitate a discussion on the top‑voted items, turning them into concrete action items with owners and due dates before closing the session

Pro Tips

Encourage wild, out‑of‑the‑box ideas in the 'Mount Up!' column to spark innovation, then later filter for feasibility

When voting, limit each participant to three votes per column to force prioritization

Capture the final action items in a shared backlog and review progress in the next sprint planning

FAQ

What if the team runs out of ideas for a column?

Prompt with examples or ask ‘What’s one thing we wish we could try next sprint?’ to spark contributions.

How do we handle dominant voices during the round‑robin?

Stick to the timed turn‑taking rule and remind the group that every voice counts equally.

Can we combine this with other retrospectives?

Yes, you can run the Space Cowboys Roundup as a focused warm‑up before a deeper analysis or use its outcomes as input for a subsequent ‘5 Whys’ session.

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At a glance

  • Duration

    45–60 min

  • Team Size

    4-12 people

  • Columns

    4 columns

  • Base Format

    Start, Stop, Continue, Change

Tags

team alignment
actionable
themed
process improvement
remote-friendly

Ready to get started?

Use this template to run your next retrospective