🕸️🔪 Spooky Friday the 13th
Enter the haunted hall of retrospection: uncover cursed practices, banish bad omens, and conjure brave spells for our sprint's success.
Template Columns
🟢👻 Start the Haunt
Identify new eerie practices to begin that will empower our team.
Base column: Start🛑🕷️ Stop the Curse
Highlight toxic rituals or bugs we must banish from the workflow.
Base column: Stop✅🧙♂️ Continue the Spell
Keep the magical rituals that are already casting positive results.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
A themed retrospective that helps teams surface harmful habits, celebrate effective rituals, and plan spooky‑style improvements.
When to use this template
Use when the team needs a fun, high‑energy way to identify blockers and reinforce good habits, especially after a challenging sprint.
How to facilitate
Set the mood by sharing the spooky theme and explaining the three columns: Start the Haunt, Stop the Curse, Continue the Spell
Give each participant 3–5 minutes in silent brainstorming mode to write down items for each column on virtual sticky notes
Collect all notes, group similar ideas, and place them under the appropriate column on the shared board
Facilitate a round‑robin discussion, allowing each person to briefly explain one item they added, focusing on why it matters
Vote for the top two items in each column using dot voting or emoji reactions to prioritize actions
Create concrete action items for the highest‑voted Start and Stop items, assign owners, and agree on a check‑in point for the next sprint
Pro Tips
Encourage spooky language in the notes (e.g., “banish the bug monster”) to keep energy high and reduce defensiveness
Limit each participant to three items per column to keep the board manageable and force prioritization
After voting, turn the top Stop items into “anti‑spells” with clear steps, so the team knows exactly how to eliminate them
FAQ
What if the team feels the theme is too gimmicky?
Explain that the theme is a framing tool to boost engagement; you can tone it down or switch to a neutral name while keeping the same structure.
How do we handle a large number of items that overwhelm the board?
After the silent brainstorm, spend a few minutes clustering similar notes and discard duplicates before voting, keeping the list concise.
What if no one volunteers to own an action item?
Rotate ownership by assigning the item to the person who raised the most related concerns, or use a quick round of self‑selection to ensure accountability.
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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