🌟🌠 Starry Night Sky
Gaze into our star-filled agile sky! Like stargazers mapping constellations, let's reflect on our journey, discover bright spots, spot missing stars, and wish upon new ones for our team's next adventure.
Template Columns
✨ Shining Stars
Share the standout moments and wins that lit up our project sky.
Base column: Liked🔭 New Constellations
Discuss the new discoveries, skills, or patterns you’ve spotted during our iteration.
Base column: Learned🌑 Dark Patches
Identify the missing stars or gaps—areas where we felt lost in the dark.
Base column: Lacked🌠 Wishing Upon Stars
Express your hopes, dreams, or improvements you wish to see twinkle in our next sprint.
Base column: Longed ForAbout this template
The Starry Night Sky retrospective helps teams reflect on recent work by highlighting successes, uncovering new learnings, identifying challenges, and setting aspirations for the future through a fun, galaxy-inspired format.
When to use this template
Use this retrospective at the end of a sprint or project when you want to encourage creative reflection, celebrate wins, and surface both lessons learned and areas for growth.
How to facilitate
Start by inviting everyone to picture your team's journey as a night sky and briefly introduce each column's metaphor
Ask team members to add notes to each column: Shining Stars for wins, New Constellations for learnings, Dark Patches for challenges, and Wishing Upon Stars for hopes
Give everyone silent time to contribute reflections in each area, encouraging creative language and examples
As a group, review the board starting with Shining Stars to celebrate,
Continue with New Constellations and discuss how new skills or patterns can be reinforced going forward
Explore Dark Patches together, focusing on understanding gaps rather than assigning blame
Finish with Wishing Upon Stars, brainstorming ideas and improvements, then prioritize 1–2 to take action on next sprint
Wrap up by summarizing key themes and agreeing on follow-ups.
Pro Tips
Add a calming, space-themed background or play soft music to set the mood for openness and creativity
Encourage participants to link reflections across columns to show connections between wins, gaps, and aspirations
Model vulnerability by highlighting both personal and team-level Wishing Upon Stars and Dark Patches
Use stories or metaphors instead of just bullet points for richer discussions
Timebox discussions in each section to maintain energy and focus
FAQ
What if the team struggles to come up with items for 'New Constellations'?
Prompt with specific examples of small but significant changes, new tools, or habits, and remind everyone that even small discoveries count.
How do we keep the retrospective from becoming too focused on the negatives in 'Dark Patches'?
Balance the conversation by starting with 'Shining Stars' and moving to 'Dark Patches' only after celebrating successes. Encourage solutions and learning, not blame.
How do I manage time if participants are very engaged or the discussion gets sidetracked?
Timebox each segment and use a timer. If deeper topics arise, note them and suggest a follow-up conversation outside the retrospective.
At a glance
- Duration
45–60 min
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
4 columns
- Base Format
Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed For
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective